


Help Our Souls Tonight

by lysanderwarrior



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: (Why Do All My Fics Have Underage Drinking), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Am I alright, Angst, Are they alright, Don't Try This At Home, Driving, Drunkenness, Fire, Forests, Friendship, Handcuffed Together, Handcuffs, Hide and Seek, High School, Humor, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Multi, Never Have I Ever, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ouija, Party, Rantaro's got a crush-, Scary, Shoplifting, Slice of Life, Stupidity, Swearing, Teenagers, The boys have a book club, Underage Drinking, dumb teens, mcdonalds, they're all dumb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-04-12 00:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19120432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysanderwarrior/pseuds/lysanderwarrior
Summary: They're losing, losing this fight.- or -A bunch of fun and dumb oneshots from the same timeline without an actual plot and possibly no relation to one another besides being in the same universe. They just having fun, okay?





	1. End of the world -party

**Author's Note:**

> They're all dumb and offensive and chaotic but hey, aren't we all?

 

 

‘’To our last night on earth!’’

 

_‘’Cheers!’’_

 

All of class 80th clinked their glasses together, the fruit flavored punch dripping on the floor, but none of them seemed to care as they gulped back their drinks.

 

Kokichi was the first one to finish, slamming his empty glass against the wooden floor and then letting out a quiet sorry when Kirumi asked him to be more careful.

 

‘’Kaede, what even is in this thing?’’ Rantaro asked, raising an amused eyebrow as the others were still drinking their glasses.

 

The said girl giggled, throwing herself over a bunch of dark red pillows on her floor, ‘’Um, rum, vodka and anything else I could steal from my parents’ without them noticing.’’ She smirked, running a hand through her blonde hair, carefree, ‘’I kind of think they noticed and still left us here alone, though.’’

 

‘’This little girl has finally joined us on the dark side,’’ Miu grinned, patting Kaede on the head as she lay next to her. ‘’I’m fucking proud.’’

 

‘’Okay, okay, I have a question,’’ Angie interrupted, pouring herself another glass of the red punch. She took a careful sip and asked, ‘’Why did you guys call this party the _End of the world_ -party?’’

 

Tsumugi flopped on one of the huge pillows, the red complimenting her blue hair. She let out a chuckle, ‘’Because Kaede’s a _Life is strange_ rip-off.’’

 

Kaede raised her head from the soft cushion enough to meet the other girl’s eyes and gasp, ‘’Am not!’’

 

‘’Are too!’’ Tsumugi insisted, blowing her a short-lived raspberry before letting herself relax and look up at the roof.

 

The whole room was dark red, matching the theme of the party. There were only red and orange glow sticks, red lava lamps and Kirumi had even gotten red pillows and blankets. No one had any idea where Kokichi had gotten the fog machines, and honestly everyone was afraid to find out, but now they sat on Kaede’s bedroom floor and blew red smoke into the room. Everyone sat on the floor so it was a little difficult to see each other, but it was fun and made the whole place seem like a 19th century opium den or, _you know…_ the 21st century Yasuhiro Hagakure’s basement, both examples fit.

 

Of course, none of them were actually doing drugs. Because Gonta, Kirumi and Himiko were there. In the world there are just some people whose worlds you cannot stain, and those three were a great example. If they, for some reason, happened to leave early, though, who knows what would happen?

 

‘’Angie, Angie, _Angie,_ you little idiot,’’ Kaito shook his head, ‘’This party is called the way it is because we start our senior year tomorrow. So, uh, it’s officially our last night on earth, fam!’’

 

Almost everyone cheered without being told to. Even Korekiyo, and he had been busy filling Rantaro’s neck with necklaces made of glow sticks for the past twenty minutes.

 

‘’Ah, not this _Heaven’s Gate bullshit_ again,’’ Kokichi groaned, annoyed and shaking his head, ‘’I think I’m getting Vietnam flashbacks.’’

 

Maki was sadly sitting next to the short teen and asked, ‘’Kokichi… what the honest, _genuine fuck_ does that mean?’’

 

‘’Kokichi, you’re being so disrespectful and _drunk_ right now,’’ Shuichi sighed, pouring another glass of punch and handing it to Kokichi, ‘’Here, have some more.’’

 

‘’I must admit, I don’t regret coming here tonight,’’ Korekiyo hummed, snapping shut the last pair of glow sticks he could fit around Rantaro’s neck. It was just a big area of glowing red at that point.

 

Angie twirled one of her ponytails around her finger as she placed another one thoughtfully on her chin, ‘’Speaking of cults like Heaven’s Gate… boys, how’s the book club going?’’

 

And like in sync, all Shuichi, Rantaro, Korekiyo and Kiibo gasped, placing their drink audibly on the floor if they were holding it.

 

‘’First rule of book club… you do not talk about book club,’’ Kiibo stated, shaking his head in disappointment. The other three boys murmured in agreement in the background.

 

‘’For real, though,’’ Tenko spoke up. She was laying on her stomach, one of the pillows scrunched up under her chest as Himiko lay next to her, her red hair almost invisible in the rest of the crimson room. ‘’You meet up twice a week to do… what? Read Fifty shades of gray, you pervs?’’

 

‘’Gonta- Gonta is not even sure if Gonta knows how to read,’’ admitted Gonta, mumbling into his drink in a rather sad manner. He knew how to read, but everyone else in the room still gasped loudly, sounding offended.

 

Kokichi was the one to speak up and point at Kaede, ‘’Kayayday, you have ruined our pure boy with your stinky ass alcohol! I’m suing!’’

 

Kaede rose up on her elbows, furrowing her brows, ‘’Kokichi, you’re _literally_ drinking that alcohol right now.’’

 

He quickly set his glass down, swallowing the last gulp he could. ‘’You ain’t got no proof, ma’am.’’

 

Ryoma was staring up at the roof, the place where Kaede had added some pictures of cut out planets with red filters (with the help of Korekiyo and Gonta since they were the tallest people in their class, but that didn’t matter). The red light from the floor reflected on to the roof and Ryoma stated, ‘’This is like the Red Light District all over again.’’

 

Yet again, a groan was heard from everyone.

 

‘’That’s it, all the midgets _out,’’_ Maki pointed at the door somewhere at the edge of the room, in the darker parts.

 

‘’I didn’t do anything!’’ Himiko groaned, pulling her hat to cover her eyes from the others. ‘’This is discrimination!’’

 

‘’Guess what the real discrimination is?’’ Miu spoke up, louder than anyone else in the room, ‘’The fact that I bought these shoes for _fucking_ fifty bucks and we only invited our class!’’

 

Rantaro asked, carefully and slowly, ‘’You… you wear shoes indoors?’’

 

As if on cue, everyone besides Miu, Ryoma and Kokichi pointed at the door and yelled, _‘’Get out!’’_

 

Kaede laughed, burying her head in the pillow, ‘’This year is going to be the death of us.’’

 

‘’Damn straight,’’ Kaito shook his head, chuckling.

 

A buzz was heard, surprisingly coming from Korekiyo’s pocket. He started digging through his jeans before pulling his phone out and checking the message he got. Everyone else waited in silence and anticipation.

 

‘’Okay, if you won’t die… my sister is now available to go buy us drinks,’’ he explained, ‘’Do you guys wish to get some?’’

 

Everyone shared a knowing look before answering, ‘’Hell yeah!’’

 

‘’Kiyo, your sister is _the best,’’_ Rantaro chuckled, punching Korekiyo gently in the arm.

 

‘’Ah… should I be triggered by this?’’ he raised an eyebrow.

 

‘’Everyone from the 78th class is the best, not just Mukuro,’’ Shuichi stated, smiling, but soon he was hit in the head with one of the red pillows by no other than Kokichi. ‘’Ow! What was that for?’’ he whined.

 

‘’Um, for optimism!’’ the shorter complained, hitting him again, ‘’All the other classes are our _enemies!_ 80th for the win!’’

 

Maki didn’t hesitate and quickly swung Kokichi in the head with one of the pillows, sighing, ‘’Cut it out, gremlin, if you don’t wanna die.’’

 

‘’Bold of you to assume I wanted to live in the first place,’’ Kokichi blew her a raspberry, but continued to jump behind Shuichi’s back to avoid getting hit again.

 

If there was something the 80th class never should do (well, ignoring the library, water park, aquarium, school play, art museum and studying), it was having a pillow fight. They had it once during freshman year, on the pyjama day at Hope’s Peak. It ended up in Gonta trying to catch one of the pillows and accidentally breaking a window. Later, Kokichi had been duct taped to some pillows and had been thrown out of that very same window. Of course multiple people had also been hit down the stairs accidentally or not so accidentally _(shaking my head,_ Miu) and the poor fallen one had once gotten their tailbone broken (Angie).

 

‘’Guys, calm down!’’ Kaede pleaded once about half the room had started smashing each other with pillows and trying to drown one another in them.

 

It didn’t help, Maki and Kokichi were now teaming up on Shuichi, Maki was trying to hit Angie who was running around the room to escape and Tenko was protecting Himiko from Kiibo and Tsumugi.

 

‘’That’s it,’’ Rantaro shook his head, took a deep breath and yelled, ‘’Shrek dies in Endgame!’’

 

And the room went quiet. Not a sound. Not a flinch. Even Kokichi had dropped his pillow down on the floor on an instant. All eyes were on Rantaro, who looked rather achieved from stopping the fight.

 

‘’80th class,’’ Korekiyo whispered, slowly grabbing a pillow himself and watching as the others did too, ‘’...assemble.’’

 

With a scream that was sure to wake up Kaede’s neighbours and most likely the whole block, all of the 80th class leaped forward with their pillows raised, attacking Rantaro repeatedly with the soft cushions.

 

‘’This sure is Rantaro’s last night on earth!’’

 

‘’Hey, that’s- ow! Probably true!’’ he whined, laying down on the ground as everyone kept smacking him.

 

With a defeated sigh, he raised his hands as a sign of giving up and slowly everyone got off him.

 

‘’And who’s the homeroom teacher to say we can’t do healthy group activities together?’’ Shuichi laughed, snorting.

 

‘’You don’t even know her name, do you?’’ Kirumi asked.

 

Shuichi waved his hand across the air, brushing it off, ‘’It’s already been three years, I’ll survive the last one just fine without knowing.’’

 

‘’Guys,’’ Tsumugi realised, growing serious, ‘’We have school tomorrow and it’s… two a.m.’’

 

Kaito let out a carefree chuckle, followed by one filled with panic, ‘’We’re fucked, aren’t we?’’

 

_‘’To our last night on earth!’’_

  


 


	2. We're going to die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruh moment when you decide to have fun with an Ouija board in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i highkey want to write more ~scary~ chapters with this gang again, enjoy

 

 

‘’Watch out with the stairs, one of them almost collapsed last week!’’ Rantaro warned the other teens as they climbed up the old, wooden stairs behind him.

 

Miu got up the stairs last and dramatically collapsed on the floor of the attic, dust flying off as she hit the floorboards. ‘’What the hell even is this place?’’

 

The others looked around the mostly empty room, it was dark at the sides but there was _some_ sun shining through through the roof boards. It was already evening, the sun could set anytime now. All of them decided to just sit down too, more and more dust escaping into the air.

 

‘’Kiyo and I found it some time ago, isn’t it cool?’’ Rantaro chuckled as the boy next to him, Korekiyo, started digging through his bag.

 

‘’There are literally like… broken dolls and old strollers over there,’’ Kaede pointed out, nudging towards the other end of the attic.

 

Kaito started coughing relentlessly - most likely because of all the dust - as Korekiyo placed a wooden board in the middle of the circle, its color almost matching the floor's. He also pulled out two black candles, placing them on both sides of the board. A glass was also placed upside down on top of the wood. There were letters, numbers and words saying _yes, no_ and _goodbye_ on the board.

 

‘’Wait, I know what that is,’’ Maki said, narrowing her eyes as she ran a finger over the wooden board, ‘’It’s an Ouija board.’’

 

‘’And suddenly _I’m out,’’_ Shuichi spoke up as he raised his hands up in the air and started getting up.

 

Kokichi was quicker and grabbed his wrist, tugging him back down on the worn out floor. ‘’You’re not abandoning me, Shuichi,’’ he pouted.

 

By now it was obvious that Rantaro and Korekiyo had dragged Shuichi, Kokichi, Kaede, Miu, Maki and Kaito in the middle of the woods, into an abandoned building just to play a game… a very dangerous game.

 

‘’Okay, I know this might seem crazy, but it’ll be fun,’’ Rantaro reassured everyone as he lit up the candles with a lighter he had dug out from his pocket. The floor underneath them was wood and so was the Ouija board, so just the thought of one of the candles being knocked over was terrifying.

 

‘’I’d call it an intriguing opportunity to learn something about the afterlife and get replies to the most curious questions,’’ Korekiyo shrugged.

 

‘’That _is_ your word for fun, Kiyo.’’

 

‘’Alright, I’m not even surprised you’d make us play this, but… can’t we like… fucking die from this?’’ Miu questioned, arching an eyebrow. The others around her nodded in agreement, all besides Kokichi.

 

Korekiyo hummed in thought, tapping his masked chin with a finger, ‘’Only if we are disrespectful towards the great spirits. _Kokichi.’’_

 

‘’Wha- I didn’t even do _shit_ yet!’’ the said teen whined, pouting.

 

‘’I’ll play it, but… Kiyo, please explain the rules,’’ Kaede pleaded, looking worried over the possible danger of the game.

 

‘’Ah, right, you all must be new to this, how careless of me,’’ the tallest boy in the room shook his head. ‘’Okay, we all must be respectful and kind towards the spirits. We mustn’t trust them, though. One of us should be the leader who asks all of the questions from them. I shall volunteer for the duty, since I am the most familiar with this sort of rituals.’’

 

Korekiyo raised an eyebrow at the rest of the group, and everyone nodded in understanding. He continued, ‘’Everyone places two fingers on top of the glass and tells me what I should ask. Others do not ask in order to not confuse the spirits. No one asks when or how they themselves will die. If we don’t get an immediate response, no one shall ask if _this thing is working. Kokichi.’’_

 

‘’Hey-’’

 

‘’Let’s keep the joke questions to a minimum and end the session with a goodbye. If the glass starts going down the numbers or through the alphabet in order, we should say goodbye at an instant,’’ Korekiyo finished his explanation. ‘’Also, no one move the glass themselves or I will personally feel obligated to slap them.’’

 

‘’What if, and _hear me out,_ we _ask_ it to go through the alphabet?’’ Kokichi asked, grinning.

 

Korekiyo sighed and leaned over the middle of the circle, slapping Kokichi lazily, but hard enough to sting on the cheek, earning some laughs from the others. ‘’Hey, not fair-’’ he whined.

 

‘’Should we start?’’ Rantaro asked, placing his right index and middle finger on top of the glass, placed on the middle of the board. All the others followed his lead, scooting closer to the middle and adding their fingers on top and next to his. ‘’Alright, Kiyo, do your thing.’’

 

His voice came up deeper than usual as he asked, ‘’Are there any spirits here with us?’’

 

A second passed. No response. Even Kokichi stayed quiet, looking more serious than ever before.

 

Another second, then a third and a fourth. _Nothing._

 

Korekiyo seemed to think nothing of it as he repeated, ‘’Are there any spirits here who wish to speak with us?’’

 

And the glass moved, quick and reckless, to the word marking a _yes._ It seemed like Kaede almost pulled her fingers off the glass, but no one dared to say a word.

 

‘’Kaito, d-don’t move it,’’ Maki whispered, eyes wider and more fearful than usual.

 

‘’It wasn’t me,’’ the boy insisted, seeming scared himself. He turned his eyes to meet with Korekiyo’s, ‘’What now?’’

 

‘’Ah, good day. Do you have a name?’’ the anthropologist asked, voice still low and hollow.

 

Everyone waited as the glass started moving again, slower this time, and over to the letter Z. It didn’t stop, continuing towards the letter O as everyone else stared at the board, faces and fingers turning pale.

 

‘’Isn’t there… a demon called Zozo or something…?’’ Shuichi asked quietly, his voice shaky.

 

_‘’Hush,’’_ Korekiyo silenced him as the glass made its last move on the letter E before it stopped moving completely. He hummed in approval, ‘’Nice to meet you, Zoe.’’

 

‘’I swear to god, Kokichi, if this is you fucking with us,’’ Miu mumbled, nudging the short boy next to him.

 

Rantaro turned his head towards Korekiyo, trying to meet his eyes before chuckling, ‘’Ask what I got from the last math exam.’’

 

‘’Hey, I wanted to ask that,’’ Kokichi whined, raising a finger from the glass before stabbing what he thought was Rantaro’s index finger with his own nails.

 

‘’Ow! Kokichi!’’ Kaede shrieked from pain.

 

‘’Sorry, I thought that only Rantaro painted his nails pink, it’s an honest mistake!’’ he shrugged, not sorry at all as he grinned.

 

‘’Excuse you, but I don’t limit myself to only one color,’’ Rantaro rolled his eyes.

 

‘’Let’s move on,’’ Korekiyo sighed, shaking his head. ‘’Some actual questions, please?’’

 

‘’Ask if pineapple belongs on pizza?’’ Kaede suggested with a soft chuckle. A few disapproving groans came from the crowd. She whined, laughing, ‘’Come on, guys! You know yourself that it does!’’

 

‘’I suppose… that is fine,’’ he complied and asked the board, ‘’Hm, does pineapple belong on a pizza?’’

 

‘’Ah, fuck. I can’t believe you’ve done this,’’ Rantaro shook his head, faking a British accent.

 

The glass moved nowhere, as expected.

 

‘’What number am I thinking of?’’ Maki spoke up, getting tired of waiting.

 

‘’Ah, only I am supposed to ask-’’ Korekiyo tried but was interrupted by the glass beneath their fingers moving on the board fast, going to number 9, followed by a 4.

 

‘’What-’’ Maki’s face dropped as she pulled her fingers away from underneath Kaito’s and scooted backwards. ‘’Gross, no, no-’’ she covered her mouth with her palm, looking honestly terrified.

 

Kokichi rolled her eyes, ‘’Nice acting, Maki. I almost believed you.’’

 

‘’Do you want to die? I’m not kidding!’’ she hissed as she slowly crawled back to her place and, although hesitantly, returned her fingers back on the glass. ‘’You try asking something only you know.’’

 

‘’Fine. Zoe, who do I have a _crush_ on?’’ the purple-haired boy asked with a thick layer of sarcasm in his voice. Seems like Korekiyo’s instructions had fallen on deaf ears.

 

Slowly, the glass started moving again and slid from the number four over to the letters, settling on S.

 

‘’Hah! I like where this is going!’’ Miu grinned, receiving a glare from Kokichi.

 

The glass moved over to another S and stopped moving after that. SS, could mean either a rather bad organization, or the initials of someone from their class-

 

‘’Alright, this is dumb!’’ Kokichi declared, moving the glass away from the letter and continuing to take his fingers off it and sit back, ‘’You guys go on without me.’’

 

Everyone eventually settled back to looking at the board, getting ready to ask the next question. Nothing came to mind so they just stared. Kaede could swear she saw one of the candle flames flicker.

 

‘’Oh, I’ve got a good one!’’ Kaito yelped with a confident grin on his face. He glanced at Maki before continuing, ‘’Will I marry someone from the 80th class?’’

 

Kokichi snorted as he lay back on his elbows on the dirty floor, ‘’Aww, Kaito, I didn’t know you were _such_ a girl! Promise me you’ll invite me to your bridal shower!’’

 

‘’Fuck off, even Zoe knows you’ve fallen for Saihara’s dumbass,’’ Miu mocked him, rolling her eyes as the glass suddenly started moving underneath their fingers. Kokichi didn’t dare to reply.

 

Shuichi laughed nervously as the glass slid over the board, ‘’I’m not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.’’

 

The cup landed on _yes._ Kaito’s smile was prominent. ‘’Can’t wait,’’ he chuckled, and one could notice there was a blush on his cheeks if the sun hadn’t already started setting outside, making it a lot darker inside the building.

 

‘’I’ve got a question,’’ Rantaro said, moving the glass back in the middle and looking at Korekiyo to see if it was okay for him to ask it. The other nodded, so he smiled and asked, ‘’Will our class remain close even after we graduate?’’

 

_Yes._

 

It wasn’t too big of a surprise, but it surely made everyone in the room smile. The group just hoped that _everyone_ meant only the eight of them.

 

‘’Did you mean Shuichi when you said SS earlier?’’ Kaede asked, glancing at Kokichi and grinning. He furrowed his brows and stuck his tongue out in a defensive way.

 

‘’We can’t have all the questions be answered with a yes,’’ Miu complained.

 

‘’Ahah, _save me,_ Zoe,’’ Shuichi whispered, laughing nervously.

 

It seemed as if his plea worked as the glass moved nowhere. Everyone waited for multiple minutes, but nothing happened. Both Shuichi and Kokichi seemed quite relieved. ‘’See?’’ Kokichi said, ‘’This whole thing is more ridiculous than Maki’s crush on Kaito!’’

 

‘’Okay, that’s it,’’ Maki said coldly, glaring at the shortest boy in the room. She pressed her fingers even harder against the glass and the others thought it’d surely break underneath the pressure, ‘’Zoe, will Kokichi die soon?’’

 

‘’No, no, _no,_ Maki, you mustn’t-’’ Korekiyo sighed, looking a little caught off guard (and even scared), but he was cut off yet again as the glass sharply moved away from the answer of the previous question.

 

Instead of going to yes or no, the glass landed on Y, but it definitely didn’t stop there as it kept on moving across the letters.

 

‘’Y, O, U, A…’’ Kaede said the letters out loud, following the movements of the glass. Eventually it came to a stop and she read the words out loud, voice shaking, _‘’You all will…?’’_

 

A flash of bright light filled the room for less than a second, followed by a rumble and boom of thunder. It started raining. The whole room went into a complete chaos. Everyone besides Rantaro and Korekiyo pulled their fingers away and stumbled up from the floor, panicked and gathering their bags which lay around the room. _‘’G-goodbye,’’_ the two remaining boys said in unison, their stuttering matching. They slid the glass over to goodbye and got up, Korekiyo picking the glass up with them.

 

‘’What are you doing? Keeping it as a souvenir? _Get rid of it!’’_ Miu almost screamed, grabbing the glass from Korekiyo and throwing it across the floor, shattering it to pieces. She sighed of relief but continued to run towards the stairs, trying to escape.

 

‘’If we get possessed because of her, I’m suing,’’ Korekiyo whispered, voice a lot less calm than usual as he blew out the candles and grabbed them with him. Rantaro waited for him before they both ran after the others, leaving the attic and going down the stairs, which thankfully didn't collapse..

 

Surprisingly, out in the dark woods and in the rain it was a lot less scary than inside the building. Not a lot, but a little. They ran through a path in a line, no one even trying to keep their calm at this point. _Even Kokichi_ was panicked.

 

‘’This is why you guys don’t have friends!’’ Kaito yelled at Rantaro and Korekiyo as yet another lightning flashed, lighting up the entire forest for a simple second.

 

‘’Hey, Kiyo said not to ask questions about dying!’’ Rantaro scoffed, running next to the said teen as they all got soaked in the roaming rain. ‘’Blame your girlfriend!’’

 

‘’I suppose that’s it for our class staying close,’’ Korekiyo whispered, holding a hand above his head to try and not get too wet. It was for nothing, though.

 

As they made it out of the woods and onto an intersection with traffic lights, the four arguing at the back of their line, Shuichi walked up to Kokichi. ‘’So, uh, in case we’re going to actually die, I wanted to-’’

 

‘’I just love your positivity, Shuichi,’’ the shorter boy shook his head, more water dripping from his wet hair, ‘’Really admire that attitude of yours.’’

 

‘’Well, uh…’’ Shuichi chuckled nervously, ‘’I was going to ask you out, but…’’

 

The lights turned green and everyone else from their group started crossing the road (even though no cars were driving there so they wouldn’t have needed to wait in the first place), but Kokichi froze. ‘’Wh-what?’’

 

‘’I mean, you kind of exposed your crush back there. I’m not _that_ bad of a detective,’’ he scratched the back of his head, smiling a little.

 

‘’Uh… right, yeah, let’s go out together,’’ Kokichi answered, voice small and sounding way too honest for his own liking. He cleared his throat, ‘’I mean- I’d just _looove_ to go out with you Shuichi! Since I love you so much~~’’

 

‘’Guys!’’ Miu yelled from across the street, ‘’Get down here or Zoe will get your asses!’’

 

‘’Demons bringing couples together since 1912,’’ Rantaro smiled as the two boys ran over to them, holding hands.

 

‘’Rantaro, I hate to break it to you, but it’s _literally_ 2019,’’ Korekiyo shook his head, earning a laugh from the other.

 

‘’We’re going to die, I get to talk nonsense!’’

 

‘’I’m going to kill you both if we don’t get a move on!’’ Miu groaned, crossing her arms, ‘’If your parents don’t kill you first, that is, since it’s already past midnight.’’

 

_‘’Well fuck.’’_

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys don't actually play with an ouija board you don't want to get possessed


	3. Sir, this is a McDonalds drive-thru (literally)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Tsumugi works at McDonalds (I'm sorry).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these goddamn dumbasses

 

Tsumugi had gotten a part-time job. She didn’t need it too much, her family was very helpful with all the cosplays she wanted to make or buy, or just with other buyables she desired. But according to Tsumugi it was a question of principles and independency, so she got the job. That was her first mistake.

 

The second mistake was getting it at a local fast food restaurant. To be exact, McDonalds. Definitely not the classiest place or the one she would’ve preferred, but they were hiring and they paid. Bonus side, free food.

 

Third strike was telling the rest of her class about her new job.  _ Oh, _ what a rookie mistake.

  
  


‘’Stop kicking my leg, Kokichi, or I’ll throw you out of the damn window,’’ Maki threatened, glaring at the boy sitting next to her.

 

There were four of them stuffed side to side in the backseat, Kokichi, Maki, Shuichi and Angie. They were shoved in in a way none of them could wear a seatbelt or even comfortably move. Rantaro was driving as it was his (dad’s) car, and Korekiyo sat at the passenger’s seat, having much more space for his legs than anyone at the back.

 

Another car was behind them with Kirumi driving and at least Kaito, Tenko, Himiko, Kaede and Ryoma on board. Kirumi hadn’t looked too pleased with the idea of having four passengers at the back instead of… well, the _ legal _ amount, but Kokichi hadn’t left her much of a choice as he had forced everyone in the car before going into his own ride. Not that Kirumi had thought the whole thing was a good idea in the first place.

 

‘’Like you can move your hands enough to do that,’’ Kokichi rolled his eyes, resting his head against the window on his left side.

 

‘’Guys, shh,’’ Rantaro called out to the back as he stopped stepping on the gas, stopping the car, ‘’I’m pulling up to the speaker.’’

 

Everyone shut up, looking out of the windows as well as they could to see the drive-thru in front of them, and Rantaro rolling the car window down so he could tell the machine their order.

 

With a small crack, the machine spoke up, a familiar voice of their classmate talking, ‘’Thank you for choosing McDonalds, how may I help you?’’ A few people in the backseat were holding back chuckles, knowing what was about to come.

 

‘’Hey, uh, I’ll have a hundred Big Macs,’’ Rantaro said, as if his request was the most common order in the world. He corrected himself, ‘’Without pickles, thanks.’’

 

‘’Uh… did you say a hundred?’’ came Tsumugi’s reply from the speaker, clearly not recognizing her friend’s voice.

 

‘’Yeah, no pickles,’’ it seemed as if Rantaro almost laughed himself, having to cover his mouth with his hand.

 

The machine cracked yet again, ‘’Um, okay, a hundred Big Macs. Anything else?’’

 

Kokichi leaned over, peeking from between the wall and the headrest of the driver’s seat, ‘’I’ll have a Spicy Buffalo sauce.’’ Maki snorted and Angie couldn’t hold back her giggles.

 

‘’A Spicy Buffalo sauce? A as in a single one?’’ this time it was Tsumugi’s voice that cracked instead of the speaker itself.

 

‘’Yeah, you can dump it in the bag, no need to waste any plastic to pack it!’’ Kokichi grinned, talking with a child’s voice. 

 

‘’It’s, ah, it’s actually already packed in a plastic bag, so-’’

 

During their conversation, Korekiyo had leaned over Rantaro’s lap in order to get closer to the speaker. The green-haired boy already chuckled (with a strange nervousness) even before the other could speak up and say, ‘’I’ll have two- no, make it three Happy Meals and an Oreo McFlurry.’’

 

‘’Ooh, I want a Happy Meal too!’’ Angie yelped from the backseat, smiling innocently, ‘’And one for Atua, too!’’

 

Kokichi sighed, burying his face in his hands as the other end of the speaker went silent. After a moment, Tsumugi spoke up again, ‘’Guys?’’

 

_ ‘’Ahah, _ caught us,’’ Rantaro chuckled with an easy-going smile.

 

‘’I’m going to _ kill _ you.’’

 

‘’Well,  _ Tsumuuuugi, _ that is no way to steal Maki’s job, is it now? What would your manager think?’’ Kokichi smirked, leaning on his hand as if Tsumugi could’ve actually seen him.

 

With a sigh, she continued, ‘’Are you actually going to pay for this?’’

 

‘’Rantaro’s got his dad’s credit card with him, yes,’’ Korekiyo replied. Kokichi could have been heard mumbling the word _ ‘rebel’. _

 

‘’...Okay. Fine, anything else?’’ Tsumugi asked.

 

‘’I’ll have three of those famous Oreo McFlurries,’’ Shuichi requested, smiling at Kokichi who smiled back mischievously. ‘’But. Take out the oreos.’’

 

Rantaro screeched, ducking his head down towards his knees to stifle his laughter. 

 

‘’Take out the oreos- Can’t you let me out easy, please?’’ Tsumugi sighed.

 

‘’Ah, how rude of us,’’ Korekiyo shook his head, placing one hand to pat Rantaro’s back to stop him from choking in his own laughs, ‘’Please, take out the actual meal from the Happy Meals and only leave the toys.’’

 

‘’Atua and I want the meals too, though!’’ Angie raised her hand.

 

‘’Some actual drinks could be nice too,’’ Shuichi pointed out. 

 

‘’We’ll have three Cokes and two Sprites,’’ Maki spoke up, leaning forward to get some space to move her arms.

 

Rantaro finally straightened back up, casually leaning out of the window. He looked back, seeing the other car filled with their classmates behind them. He shot the car a fingergun and a smirk before turning back to the speaker, ‘’And when we say Cokes, we mean cocaine.’’

 

There was no need to say the whole car was laughing by this point, trying to stop themselves from completely cracking up.

 

‘’Is that all?  _ Please _ say yes,’’ Tsumugi sighed, seeming as if she was one strike away from walking away from the entire conversation. 

 

Everyone looked around the car, nodding. After a few seconds they realised Tsumugi couldn’t actually see them, so Korekiyo answered, ‘’Yes, it is.’’

 

‘’Okay, ah, so you’re ordering one hundred Big Macs with no pickles, a Spicy Buffalo sauce, five Happy Meals with no meals in three of them, four Oreo McFlurries but three without… without the actual oreos and… three Coca-Colas and two Sprites?’’ it sounded as if it took all of her strength to read out their order.

 

‘’Pretty much, yeah,’’ Rantaro replied.

 

‘’You may pull up to the next window to pay.’’

 

Someone else was getting the payment from them, an adult who didn’t seem a bit humored by their order, so all the six teens paid (more accurately,  _ Rantaro _ paid) in silence and drove to the second window as Rantaro kept the driver’s window down, the teens being able to hear their other friends ordering behind them. They could hear someone ordering six plates of hotcakes from the breakfast menu. It was eight p.m.

 

It didn’t take too long for the second window to open up, a tired looking Tsumugi on the other side. ‘’I’m starting to think telling you guys about my job was a mistake,’’ she sighed, still smiling as she started handing bags inside the car.

 

‘’It most definitely was,’’ Rantaro agreed with a chuckle, accepting the bags one by one and stacking them on Korekiyo’s lap. His lap fit about two bags with two in his leg space, so the last three went in the arms of the people in the backseat.

 

‘’What’d your manager say!?’’ Kokichi questioned, excited.

 

‘’He, um, he mumbled that you guys are the reason communism will rise again,’’ Tsumugi twirled a strand of hair around her finger, looking down at the concrete between the building she was in and the car.

 

Kokichi blinked, ‘’What the fuck.’’

 

‘’But guys, showing up like this isn’t too fun! The guys behind you ordered  _ fifty _ plates of hotcakes!’’ she whined.

 

The corners of Maki’s mouth tugged up, ‘’Props.’’

 

‘’Just- just take your food and go,’’ Tsumugi sighed, flopping on the counter in front of her and bowing her head down.

 

Rantaro ran a hand through his hair, ‘’Alright, alright. I really hope there’s actual cocaine there, though.’’

 

‘’Sir, this is a McDonalds drive-thru,’’ Korekiyo said, smirking.

 

‘’But, Tsumugi, doesn’t your shift end soon?’’ Shuichi asked, peeking his head from the back.

 

She raised her head enough to meet his eyes, ‘’It  _ would’ve _ ended fifteen minutes ago, but these two cars held me up with their orders.’’

 

‘’Sounds like some great people,’’ the detective smiled, ‘’But you can join us in the park to eat these.’’

 

‘’I am  _ NOT _ sharing my fifty Big Macs. Y’all can keep the other fifty, though, that’s your business,’’ Kokichi declared.

 

‘’Well… I guess I could join you,’’ Tsumugi complied, a smile creeping on her face. She looked past her friend’s car and continued, ‘’But the others are still waiting for their order, so… drive before my manager goes sicko mode on you.’’

 

Rantaro shook his head as he started driving away, ‘’Who uses  _ sicko mode _ in 2019?’’

 

Kokichi started furiously rummaging through the paper bag he had gotten, pulling out the small bag of the sauce he ordered. ‘’Aw, Shuichi, care to share this with me?’’ he smiled, _ oh,  _ so innocently.

 

‘’Uh… how?’’ Shuichi raised an eyebrow, confused and most likely scared.

 

‘’You know, I squeeze some into my mouth and then kiss you.’’

 

‘’This could actually be cute if you weren’t talking about literally consuming bare sauce,’’ Maki shook her head.

 

‘’You’re just jealous because your man is out there sharing hotcakes with other girls and Ryoma,’’ Kokichi stated, raising a defensive finger. ‘’Mmm, hotcakes… the most romantic meal of them all.’’

 

Maki blinked. Her move was followed by an attack towards Kokichi, pushing him against the door, ‘’Shut the hell up, gremlin.’’

 

‘’I can’t, I’m  _ gay,’’  _ he sniffed, frowning.

 

‘’Oh my, calm down, guys!’’ Angie pleaded, still with a cheery tone as she held one of the Happy Meal boxes in her arms, almost hugging it.

 

Korekiyo shook his head, sighing, ‘’I can’t believe I agreed to this. I’m not even hungry and the company… could use some work.’’

 

Rantaro snorted, parking the car on one of the parking spots in front of the restaurant until their other friends would arrive so they would drive to the nearby park and eat, ‘’Me neither, actually. Want to share a burger?’’

 

‘’Sure.’’

 

And with that, began almost the whole 80th class’s journey to eating so much fast food they couldn’t leave the park for an entire hour. And the journey of Rantaro having to sneak in and delete his dad’s credit card’s transaction history from his bank account.

 

Tsumugi - not surprisingly - quit her job a month later as her friends kept coming to buy ridiculous orders. Or more accurately, she got fired when her boss found out it was her friends who kept doing it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> could i make the amaguji energy more obvious? perhaps


	4. It's lit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help their souls indeed.
> 
>  
> 
> or
> 
>  
> 
> A fire breaks out at the gang's high school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title- see what I did there-

** **

 

The 80th class was interrupted from their physics lesson when the fire alarms went off, sending a jolt of panic through the entire classroom. Books were slammed shut and thrown into their bags, students getting up in concern and fear while starting to talk loudly.

 

Soon there came the principal’s announcement from the intercom, sounding more serious than usual, ‘’There has been a fire located in the boys’ bathroom on the fourth floor, please evacuate the building and report to the front of the school. The proper authorities have been informed of the situation.’’

 

‘’Like hell I’m dying in this place!’’ Miu scoffed, starting to make her way towards the door of the classroom-

 

‘’Miss Iruma!’’ their teacher yelled suddenly, crossing her arms as she got up from her seat in front of the blackboard. ‘’I hope you are aware that we are currently in the fourth floor of the building, and you weren’t just planning to rush out into the possible danger.’’

 

The blonde’s face fell to something resembling fear and incoming tears before she bowed her head in shame. ‘’R-right, of course I’m not planning to do that…’’

 

‘’Good, now please follow me down the teachers’ staircase, opposite from the boys’ bathroom,’’ the teacher stated, nose scrunched up like all the students in the room were nothing but mere disappointments. ‘’Leave your belongings inside the classroom.’’

 

_ ‘’Psh,’’ _ Rantaro shook his head, grabbing his bag from his chair and handing Korekiyo his, ‘’Does she expect us to seriously do that?’’

 

‘’I suppose yes, it’s not as if we are going to broadcast the fire to the world,’’ Korekiyo shrugged, yet continued to accept his bag from the other as they made their way towards the door. A lot of other students like Kaito and Ryoma grabbed their school bags too and the lines on the teacher’s forehead and around her mouth became even more prominent.

 

Tenko smiled at the way everyone else seemed unsettled around her, ‘’Dumb degenerates, this is clearly a fire drill!’’ she chuckled a little as she yelled. ‘’We should show courage to the other classes to show that we’re smart!’’

 

‘’Tenko, _ I love you,  _ but you sound like Ishimaru from the 78th class,’’ Himiko frowned, tugging the sleeve of her girlfriend to get her moving. ‘’I don’t wanna die, let’s go.’’

 

As the teacher grabbed the trash can from the room and opened the door for the students, Angie suddenly stopped in her tracks, raising a finger to her chin. ‘’Hmm, I feel as if we forgot something,’’ she thought out loud, tapping her finger thoughtfully. Her eyes flew wide and her mouth formed into a smile for some odd reason, ‘’Ooh, Shuichi and Kokichi are still in the bathroom!’’

 

The teacher froze in her tracks, almost dropping the trash can to the floor of the hallway where she now was. ‘’What? They are directly at the source of the fire?’’ Her brows drew together in frustration, ‘’I have to go find them! You go to the courtyard through the staircase!’’

 

All the students nodded as they exited the class, heading towards the gray door at the end of the fourth floor hallway instead of the usual stairs they used, available for students. When everyone got out, the teacher closed the door and placed the black trash can in front of it to show that the classroom was empty. After, she headed to the opposite way from the students, towards the stairs and the bathrooms where you could already see smoke appearing.

 

‘’What!? There’s an actual fire!?’’ Tenko yelled when she turned her head to look, her eyes going wide and her hands shooting up in the air. ‘’Our teacher is going to die!’’

 

‘’Four goddamn years and you still don’t know her name,’’ Ryoma shook his head, walking in front of Tenko and not even paying her a second glance.

 

‘’Neither do you, idiot male!’’ she scoffed, this time raising her hands in a threatening way, like she was ready to attack Ryoma if he did anything to annoy her.

 

Their class president, Kaede, stopped in front of the door to the staircase, making all the other students stop behind her. She seemed a little upset by the fact that Kokichi or Shuichi weren’t with them, but still continued to grab the door handle and press it down.

 

Then press it down  _ again. _

 

And once, twice, three times more.

 

‘’Uhm- this is locked,’’ she frowned, panic slowly growing in her facial features as she turned her head to look at the others. A similar face of fear and panic spread across everyone’s face, even Korekiyo’s eyebrows drew together in confusion.

 

‘’Gonta may break down the door if necessary!’’ Gonta smiled, raising a thumb to show that the option was okay. He surprisingly didn’t seem at all panicked by the situation.

 

‘’Absolutely not,’’ Maki spoke up, shaking her head. ‘’The fire’s not in the hallway yet, we can easily run down the stairs. We’re not sacrificing you, Gonta.’’

 

‘’Even Maki has feelings when it comes to Gonta,  _ aww,’’ _ Tsumugi smiled, placing a hand on her own cheek and leaning on it.

 

Kaito opened his mouth to complain. ‘’Hey-’’ but he stopped, realising that every single person in their class would most likely protect Gonta from any harm.

 

Kaede smiled, turning fully around and seeming more encouraged. ‘’Then let’s go down the stairs and fast! Maybe Kokichi and Shuichi are already outside!’’ she cheered as she walked past everyone, the others making a 180 degree turn too as they began following her towards the stairs again.

 

The smoke was coming out to the hallway a lot more now, creating a big fence-like barrier between them and the stairway down. Their teacher was nowhere in sight. ‘’Uhm, do we still go?’’ Kiibo asked, fiddling nervously with his fingers. 

 

‘’Uh… yes. Yes, try not to breathe too much! The smoke most likely hasn’t reacher down the stairs!’’ Kaede stated, raising a finger as her voice turned determined. She waved her hand across the air to urge everyone to follow her, starting to walk towards the smoke.

 

‘’Korekiyo, you’re the tallest so I guess you’re kinda gonna faint, huh?’’ Kaito laughed as they approached the gray air, his chuckle quickly turning to a cough.

 

‘’Gonta is the tallest, actually,’’ Korekiyo shrugged quietly, stepping right into the smoke and walking past the bathrooms where the doors were closed. It was odd, if the teachers were to be inside, they most likely would’ve left the door open in order not to die. Shuichi and Kokichi had most likely escaped, though.

 

‘’Kaito, you big-’’ Maki’s statement was interrupted by a cough,  _ ‘’idiot!’’ _ she sighed, starting to run down the stairs in order… well, in order not to die. A lot of their class followed her lead, Miu and Angie running, Tenko hurrying down with Himiko basically in her arms.

 

‘’Hey,’’ Rantaro said with a worn out voice as he grapped Korekiyo’s hand with his own while covering his mouth with his free one, ‘’Mask man, you may be safe with that accessory, but some of us can barely breathe here.’’

 

‘’Ah, my eyes, guys wait!’’ Kaede sighed, the smoke burning in her eyes as she began running down as well, Korekiyo and Rantaro now being the only ones left on the top stairs.

 

Korekiyo chuckled as well as he could, gripping Rantaro’s hand in return and leading him down, out of the smoke. ‘’You may call me your savior as of now.’’

 

The burned fog had reached down two of the stairs, almost to the third floor. All the classrooms in the third floor seemed to have trash cans in front of the doors when they reached it, marking the rooms as empty. 

 

‘’I already did,’’ Rantaro shook his head, letting out a few coughs.

 

‘’I suppose we should get outside now. It’ll help you to get some fresh air and… not die,’’ Korekiyo suggested with a hint of worry for his friend in his voice, but it was more of a statement. A smart statement.

 

But Rantaro wasn’t always too smart.

 

‘’Yeah, we should, but we won’t,’’ he said, raising his arm to point at the third floor bathrooms, ‘’Since Kokichi and Shuichi are there.’’

 

‘’Ah, you’re right. It’s, what, 11 a.m? It’s that one junior’s smoking time on the fourth floor, isn’t it? The one who everyone’s afraid of?’’

 

‘’Mhm, it’s the only bathroom with a window,’’ Rantaro nodded, starting to walk towards the boys’ bathroom door. ‘’So the guys are probably having a blast skipping class right over here.’’

 

Korekiyo followed him, reaching over his shoulder to pull the door open. It opened without trouble, no noise coming from inside. It was possible the two other boys had already left after hearing the announcement, but learning that two of their classmates had actually died in the fire wasn’t what Rantaro and Korekiyo wanted to learn the next day.

 

Rantaro walked inside, as casually as one could as the taller followed.    
  


The room was empty, as expected. All the stall doors were open except for one at the very back, the one that had the symbol of weed spray painted on it. Really careless of the two boys, they could’ve at least closed the other doors to draw less attention to themselves.

 

While shaking his head in amusement, Rantaro marched over to the closed stall, wrapping his hand around the doorknob, ready to pull. Korekiyo appeared beside him, pressing an ear on top of the spray paint to listen. One didn’t need to do that in order to hear the silent sighs and whines coming from inside the stall and suddenly the boys turned red, sharing a sheepish look.

 

Rantaro shook his head, pressing a finger to his lips to mark Korekiyo to remain silent. Slowly, he turned the knob to see if the other two boys had left it open. They had.  _ So careless. _

 

‘’Boo!’’ Rantaro yelled, pulling the door open in an instant and almost hitting Korekiyo in the head with it. 

 

The scene unraveling in front of them, Shuichi and Kokichi looking at them with eyes wide of panic, their arms around each other and their lips swollen. Shuichi quickly turned red, eyes seeming as if they were ready to pop out any minute.

 

It was now common knowledge that the two were dating, but they didn’t make too big of a deal to make others notice it. That explained why Kokichi quickly pushed Shuichi away from him, faking a gag, ‘’Ew! Get your hands off me, pervie!’’ Though it was clear he was embarrassed too, a blush in the shade of crimson appearing on his cheeks.

 

‘’G-guys, we can explain,’’ Shuichi raised his hand in defense, still looking terrified.

 

‘’Yeah, yeah, alright,’’ Rantaro brushed it off. ‘’Whilst you guys were getting it on in the  _ Weed Stall, _ us others were trying to escape the fire spreading throughout the school.’’

 

If it was possible, Shuichi’s eyes went even wider. ‘’Wh-what?’’ he stuttered.

 

‘’Yeah, one started in the bathroom upstairs,’’ the green-haired boy shrugged, ‘’Possibly by a cigarette from that one junior.’’

 

‘’Ugh, I  _ hate _ that bitch,’’ Kokichi shook his head, acting as if that was the thing that mattered right now. ‘’That bathroom has the couch the 77th class once snatched from the teachers’ lounge and placed there! It’s _ so _ much more fun making out there!’’ he pouted. ‘’But  _ nooooo, _ he has to use it to ruin our goddamn lungs.’’

 

Korekiyo let out an amused chuckle, ‘’I don’t think that is what matters right now. Contrary to popular belief, I do not actually wish to die.’’ He placed a hand on Rantaro’s shoulder, tugging a little to get them going.

 

‘’Yeah, me neither, let’s go,’’ Rantaro nudged his head towards the door and begun walking, the others following beside and after him.

 

On his way, he noticed that there was no fire alarm in that bathroom. It was strange, only the fourth floor should’ve had the fire alarm removed as people (the junior) kept smoking in there without a problem.

 

Kokichi must’ve noticed him looking up and he explained the situation, ‘’We were jumping with pogo sticks and Gonta broke it by accident so we took the whole thing off.’’

 

It was probably bad that Rantaro’s first thought was  _ why he hadn’t been invited to jump with pogo sticks too, _ but he left the bathroom nevertheless.

 

Outside, the situation had escalated, the smoke now roaming on the third floor and taking over them by instant.

 

‘’Oh shit,’’ Kokichi blinked, reaching towards Shuichi’s arm to pull the fabric of his jacket over his own mouth and nose.

 

‘’Oh, this is bad. Let’s get outside,’’ Korekiyo shook his head, nudging towards the stairs.

 

The rest of the boys nodded in agreement and quickly hurried all the stairs down, with minimum coughs, to first floor and then outside of the main doors, feeling rather relieved by getting to inhale some fresh air and by the sun shining on them.  _ ‘’Ahh,’’  _ Kokichi hummed, satisfied.

 

Their joy was short lived as someone yelled from a small distance, ‘’Where the he- Where have you been!?’’ Their teacher. An enraged one, at that. Things weren’t looking too good for the four.

 

‘’We were worried sick! All the others made it here! They said you had to use the main staircase, yet you guys still got hung up somewhere! Where!?’’ she spat her words at them once she had reached the group with her rapid steps.

 

Instantly, the other boys turned to look at Korekiyo. He sighed before replying. ‘’I humbly apologize for all of us. Rantaro and I were simply worried for our friends, so we went to look for them in the third floor bathroom as you never came out of the fourth floor one,’’ he explained, holding up a finger.

 

The teacher liked Korekiyo. She always had, so she calmed down fast. ‘’Oh- I suppose I’ll let you out with a warning for now. I’m glad you are okay,’’ there was even something resembling a smile on her face. ‘’Let’s join the others, they are worried sick.’’

 

She walked in front of them towards the middle of the school yard as the boys followed behind. ‘’Kehehe, seems like someone has a crush on Kiyo!’’ Kokichi giggled, pointing at their teacher. ‘’No wonder you have an A in physics!’’

 

‘’I hate to admit this, Kokichi, but I, for one, actually focus in class,’’ Korekiyo shook his head, clearly not impressed by the other’s ridiculous claims. ‘’Besides, I doubt anyone would ever show any interest in me, I’m merely an observer.’’

 

Rantaro chuckled at that, his hand coming to contact with the back of his own neck as he rubbed it sheepishly, wishing a blush wouldn’t appear on his cheeks. He didn’t say anything.

 

‘’Hey,’’ Shuichi spoke up, ‘’You guys have your bags… does that mean ours are in the classroom, waiting to burn down?’’

 

The green-haired boy shrugged, regaining his relaxed composure, ‘’Shouldn’t have had a rendezvous during class, it’s your fault.’’

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm currently suffering major lack of inspiration for my other fic Common People, but I'm trying to get out a chapter soon! Have fAith in me-


	5. I guess you could say we’re... bonded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This challenge is NOT dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split this chapter into two parts because I'm not even finished with it and it's already 10k words ahshshsh
> 
> Next part coming soon, for now enjoy this mess of 6k words!

 

As the clock turned to show one minute until midnight, each one of the 80th class settled down in a circle on the floor of Rantaro’s living room, and got their hands ready next to their respective partners.

 

Kaito spoke up, explaining, ‘’Okay, right when it shows midnight, you snap the handcuffs shut, alright?’’ He looked over at everyone in the circle, each one responding with a nod. ‘’Great, I can’t wait.’’

 

‘’Perhaps because you have Gonta as your partner,’’ Korekiyo shook his head in disapproval, ‘’The rest of us didn’t get as pleasant of a partner as you did.’’

 

Miu glared at the tall boy sitting next to him, the one she was going to be handcuffed to in just under a minute. She scoffed, ‘’I’m right. Fucking. Here. Asshole.’’

 

‘’And the unpleasantness begins,’’ he simply replied, not really even focusing on the girl.

 

‘’Okay-’’ Rantaro interrupted before Miu could start yelling and waking up his entire family in the process. ‘’Everyone closes the handcuffs in… right now!’’

 

Multiple snaps were heard as all of the class snapped their handcuffs shut. At some point it was decided that the more _rational one_ of the pair would be in possession of the key to cuffs, just so it wouldn’t get lost.

 

‘’Let the twenty-four hour handcuff challenge begin!’’ Kaito grinned, nudging Gonta in euphoria.

 

‘’This will be very fun,’’ Gonta beamed, patting Kaito on the back in response, which made the shorter male have to bend over from the strength. Neither of the two had any complaints about their partner, at least yet.

 

Maki and Kokichi sat next to them, the handcuffs bonding them. Neither seemed very ecstatic about having to spend the next complete day attached to each other. Kokichi had a small grin on his face, though, seeming like he was scheming something to annoy the girl next to him. Maki herself just looked like she wanted to die, and no one from the circle could blame her.

 

After them came Korekiyo and Miu, which one could call the polar opposites regarding all the ways they spent their time, how they dressed and how they spoke. Both seemed particularly annoyed by getting the partner they did, but there was no switching now as Korekiyo held the key and didn’t want to interrupt such an _interesting experiment of human behavior._ Miu had rolled her eyes at that.

 

‘’Couldn’t we just have chosen the partners?’’ Tenko groaned, tugging on the chain that kept her connected with Ryoma. Their handcuffs had been tailored by Miu to have the length of two chains in them, as Ryoma was a lot shorter than Tenko and they both preferred to be able to stand up without having to bend or stretch at weird angles. ‘’I refuse to spend time with a degenerate like you!’’

 

The pairs had been - funnily enough - drawn from a hat with each their names in it, so no one had had any say in the matter. The only rule was that in order to make things interesting, they’d make as many _girl-boy_ pairs as possible. That’s why it was so curious that a lot of the teens happened to get someone who annoyed them as a partner.

 

‘’I literally couldn’t care less,’’ Ryoma shook his head.

 

Kiibo sat with Himiko, also bonded. He looked quite uncomfortable as the other had decorated their handcuffs with red glitter the day before, saying that it made them look cute. To say that seeing them spend the next day together was odd was an understatement, the two barely spoke directly to each other. Yet there they were, forced to interact.

 

One could wonder why the class was doing this if almost none of them liked the idea, and that reason was simply _because of school._ Their psychology teacher, to be exact. He had wanted to do an experiment of behavior changes with this technique with their class, because apparently they had the most _interesting_ dynamics. He certainly wasn’t wrong. After the whole day of being bonded, everyone had the mission of writing an essay about the experience, or record it in some other way.

 

‘’Guys, this won’t be _that_ bad,’’ Kaede smiled lightly, trying to cheer up her other classmates.

 

Kokichi rolled his eyes. ‘’Yeah, of course you’d say that when you have Shuichi as your partner,’’ he said, seeming a little jealous, but it wasn’t too big of a surprise.

 

‘’It’s not like any of us hate each other or anything,’’ Shuichi frowned at the way the others seemed so displeased about the people they were bonded with. He was correct with his statement, but a lot of the class had that _one_ person they shouldn’t have been left alone with, who they were now connected to, and Shuichi was one of the few who didn’t need to experience that feeling of annoyance for the next twenty-four hours.

 

Rantaro shrugged, ‘’Yeah, hate is a strong word. I don’t mind my partner too much.’’ He looked over at Tsumugi, who looked rather annoyed, but quickly put on a smile when she noticed she was being watched. Rantaro raised an eyebrow at the girl he was chained together with and said, ‘’I mean, _I_ don’t mind my partner, at least.’’

 

‘’N-neither do I, why would I?’’ Tsumugi chuckled nervously, twirling a strand of blue hair around her finger with her free hand.

 

‘’Should we go to sleep since we have school tomorrow?’’ Kiibo asked as Himiko yawned beside him, followed by a few inaudible mumbles from the girl and an _'aww'_ from Tenko.

 

‘’Yes, that sounds like the smartest option,’’ Kirumi hummed, getting up from the floor and making Angie get up too. Their partnership was like Kiibo’s and Himiko’s, they didn’t usually interact too much but didn’t have a problem with one another either. ‘’You all should get some sleep for the exam tomorrow, you don’t want to fail. I’ll get some blankets from the closet.’’

 

‘’We have an exam tomorrow-’’ Kaito started, eyes widening in mortification.

 

Rantaro spoke up, interrupting the other boy, ‘’Uh, it’s my house so I could get them-’’ he offered, but was cut off himself.

 

‘’If Kirumi wishes to be so nice to us, shouldn’t you let her?’’ Tsumugi frowned, resting her cheek on her free hand.

 

‘’Yes, I wish to make you all feel comfortable,’’ Kirumi brushed it off as she left the room, dragging a whining Angie behind her as they disappeared in the hall, out of the living room.

 

Everyone slowly got settled down on the couch and the pillows on the floor, getting ready to sleep. They had decided to have a sleepover the night they would start the challenge, as a lot of them were heard saying; _‘’If I have to be locked up, the others can’t cheat either!’’._ Rantaro’s house was the most efficient as it had the largest living room and they (due to the popular opinion) had the most comfortable couches.

 

‘’Ah, I suppose it is goodnight then,’’ Korekiyo hummed, moving swiftly from the circle to one of the couches, the one that was large enough for two people to lay on it.

 

‘’Hey, be careful, I’m not a goddamn dog or anything!’’ Miu complained, tugging the chain just to annoy the boy back. Once she noticed the couch, though, she stopped and seemed a lot more happy by the chance to sleep on a soft surface rather than just the floor.

 

‘’Then don’t act like one,’’ he commented, then continued to take his hat off and sit down on the couch, making Miu sit down too.

 

Rantaro chuckled at the interaction as he dragged Tsumugi on the same couch as Korekiyo and Miu, as it had space for at least four people if one would make space. ‘’Hey, I hope you guys won’t mind if we join you,’’ he smiled, mostly at the other boy.

 

‘’We are joining them?’’ Tsumugi asked quietly, but Rantaro either didn’t hear her or just decided to ignore the question.

 

‘’Sure, whatever. But Kiyo, do you…’’ Miu furrowed her brows, looking at Korekiyo, ‘’sleep with that mask on?’’

 

Korekiyo seemed rather taken aback by the question, arching an eyebrow, ‘’Haven’t you seen me sleep with it after parties like… uncountable times?’’

 

‘’I mean, I thought it was because we all just fell asleep or passed out,’’ she mumbled, but continued to raise her voice to sound more confident, ‘’I didn’t know you were a fucking weirdo.’’

 

‘’Takes one to know one, I suppose,’’ he shrugged, getting ready to lay down.

 

Meanwhile Maki took over one of the four couches, the one that could’ve possibly fit two people, but she had decided to lay down on it, taking over the whole length of the surface and making Kokichi stand up.

 

‘’And where am I supposed to sleep?’’ he questioned, cocking an eyebrow at the girl.

 

Maki shrugged, ‘’The floor, where you belong.’’

 

She smiled as Kokichi mumbled something to himself and settled down on the carpet beside the couch, grabbing a pillow from the sofa before he did so. Maki felt _that_ much sympathy towards the boy that she let her arm hang down from the couch so he didn’t have to strain his arm while having to keep it up.

 

Shuichi began walking towards the carpet, where there were pillows and cushions thrown around, when suddenly he felt a sharp tug on his wrist. ‘’Wha-’’ His whine was interrupted by Kaede shushing him and pulling him out of the living room as the others were busy getting settled down.

 

 _‘’K-Kaede!_ Where are we going?’’ he asked once the girl had started dragging him up the stairs. An audible gulp was heard before Shuichi continued, ‘’This isn’t our house.’’

 

‘’I know, but Rantaro is sleeping downstairs so that means that his bedroom is free, right?’’ Kaede smiled, pulling Shuichi in the hallway upstairs. ‘’It’d be a waste not to use it.’’

 

‘’We- we can’t just sneak into his bedroom!’’ Shuichi’s eyes went wide, trying to resist the pressure against his right wrist.

 

Kaede stopped, frowning, ‘’Come on, it’s not a crime, and it’s just one night… please?’’

 

Whether it was her sad puppy dog eyes or just the idea of not getting neck and back pains from sleeping on the floor didn’t matter, as eventually Shuichi complied with a sigh and walked inside the bedroom with Kaede.

  


At the same time downstairs, all the others were settled down on either a couch or the floor, Kirumi and Angie having returned with the blankets and given them around. The two remaining couches had been occupied by Kaito and Gonta, and Kiibo and Himiko. On the floor there were Tenko, Ryoma, Angie and Kirumi… and Kokichi, if that counted. Oh, Tsumugi had settled down on the floor too, Rantaro having to follow behind because of the handcuffs, which meant that Korekiyo and Miu had the largest couch to themselves. It didn’t seem too bad on the floor either with all the blankets and pillows.

 

‘’Goodnight, freeloaders,’’ Rantaro chuckled as he pulled a blanket over him, Tsumugi having already turned away from him.

 

‘’Goodnight, papa,’’ Kokichi mumbled, sounding half asleep.

 

Kiibo was still sitting on the couch, looking around the room. He seemed to look over everyone to see if they were all there or not. A frown spread on his face, ‘’...Has anyone seen Kaede and Shuichi?’’

  


___________

  
  


‘’Morning, guys, it’s now half past six and we’re here, in Rantaro’s huge ass dining hall after our first night bonded, getting ready to eat whatever Kirumi has cooked us!’’ Kaito explained to the front camera of his phone, showing himself and the dining table where the others sat behind him off, Gonta showing peace signs in the background. Neither of the two boys seemed bothered by the previous night.

 

The others couldn’t relate.

 

Maki still seemed mortified by the way she had woken up, _spooning_ Kokichi on the couch. The boy himself seemed embarrassed too, trying to drown himself in his bowl of cereal. Neither apparently remembered what had happened, but at some point during the night Kokichi must’ve gotten up on the couch and had then somehow ended up as the little spoon in their cuddling.

 

‘’Put that thing away, Kaito,’’ Maki said with a grim expression, hair let loose, creating threatening shadows around her face. ‘’It’s way too early for this.’’

 

‘’Oh, right, I almost forgot!’’ Kaito grinned, changing to the rear facing camera and zooming in on Maki’s face. ‘’That, my dudes, is my _maybe-perhaps-girlfriend,_ and last night… she was snuggling with this gremlin!’’ he said dramatically and sharply moved the camera to show Kokichi, at the moment groaning into his cereal bowl.

 

‘’Like that was the worst part,’’ Rantaro said, running a hand over his face, still tired. After he was done, he turned to glare at Kaede and Shuichi, sitting together and looking flushed. Kaito followed his gaze to film the two. Rantaro continued, ‘’Those two decided it’d be fun to sneak into my dad’s bedroom for the night. It was a nice surprise for him to find them drooling there at three a.m when he came home.’’

 

Kaede pressed her knees together under the table, an embarrassed smile on her face. ‘’A-ah, we thought it was your bedroom.’’ She bit her bottom lip and glanced at Shuichi, who had already covered his face with his hands.

 

‘’Well, I’m glad you know me well enough to not know where my room is, ending up in my dad threatening to throw _all_ of you out in the middle of the night,’’ Rantaro shook his head, seemingly disappointed.

 

She didn’t reply to that, just continued to look down at her lap, embarrassed.

 

‘’I’m really surprised to say this,’’ Tenko spoke up, her hair opened up too and face looking more rested than the others' in the group, ‘’but Ryoma gets a pass.’’

 

Kokichi raised his face from his cereal, showing that he hadn’t actually dipped his head in the milk, and grinned, ‘’An N-word pass?’’

 

‘’Get out,’’ Korekiyo sighed.

 

‘’There’s the door,’’ Ryoma nudged towards the archway leading to the hall.

 

‘’First of all, shut up, Kokichi,’’ Tenko groaned, raising her free fist, ‘’And second, Ryoma didn’t snore or get into my personal space _at all._  A pass is given!’’

 

‘’Go ahead, ruin my reputation like that,’’ the said boy huffed, pulling his hat over his eyes.

 

At that same moment Kirumi and Angie returned from the kitchen, both carrying a tray full of food. Angie seemed rather pleased with getting to help Kirumi in the kitchen, smiling with her eyes closed as they placed their trays on the table.

 

A few gasps were let out at the sight of eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, granola, fruit and pretty much everything else imaginable on the tray. Kirumi was really a blessing to their class.

 

‘’Woah, Kirumi, thanks,’’ Rantaro smiled, looking over all the food. ‘’You shouldn’t have felt obligated to cook for us, though.’’

 

‘’I didn’t, I simply wanted to get you all ready for the day,’’ she hummed, taking a seat next to Shuichi, Angie following behind.

 

‘’I learned how to make pancakes,’’ the artist cheered, smiling.

 

Kaito had decided to sit down with Gonta too, but not stop filming as he zoomed the camera into Miu’s face for a change. ‘’Continuing with our embarrassing night stories, care to explain why you did what you did, Miu?’’

 

Her face dropped with terror, eyes going wide. ‘’I didn’t do it on purpose!’’ she tried to defend herself. Loudly.

 

‘’Oh, so you just happened to try to take my mask off in your sleep?’’ Korekiyo arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms as well as he could while being cuffed to the other girl.

 

‘’Yes! Now you get me!’’ Miu sighed, admitting defeat, ‘’Okay, look, I fucking sleepwalk, okay? My unconscious and horny ass self must’ve thought of you as like a hot guy or something, so… I probably tried to kiss you or something, not my fault!’’ Her cheeks turned red as she bowed her head in shame, not daring to face anyone.

 

Korekiyo blinked, his arms relaxing. ‘’You… could’ve just said you tried to take my mask off because of simple curiosity.. Saved yourself the embarrassment.’’

 

‘’And now you fucking tell me!’’

 

‘’I don’t know why you would’ve admitted that in the first place,’’ Rantaro said, clear disapproval on his face.

 

‘’Guys!’’ Tenko interrupted. ‘’Is Himiko okay!?’’

 

Everyone’s head turned towards Kiibo and the short girl next to him, having fallen asleep on top of her breakfast, a cheek pressing against the soft surface of her toast. The margarine would most likely not be good for her face. After seeing her, everyone turned to stare at Kiibo.

 

He raised his hands in apprehension, Himiko’s unconscious hand raising along with his. ‘’I- she looked so calm, I didn’t want to bother!’’ he explained, panicked.

 

‘’I love how Kaito’s filming this video for the experiment, and the first thing the teacher will see when he opens the video is _this,’’_ Ryoma said, an amused grin on his face.

 

Kaito grinned, ‘’He has to see our true forms, right?’’

 

‘’Don’t you dare film Himiko when she’s unconscious, you creep!’’ Tenko spat, annoyed.

 

‘’Okay, okay, chill,’’ he frowned, defeated and lowering his phone.

 

The breakfast continued in silence, a lot of members of the group still mortified and embarrassed by the events of last night, the others either annoyed or amused.

 

Suddenly, the silence was broken by Shuichi, _‘’Wait,_ are you saying we could’ve filmed a video instead of writing an essay!?’’

  


______________

  
  


Learning that Rantaro got a ride to school from his family’s driver made everyone who had slept over happy, especially Tsumugi as she had to follow him everywhere he went.

 

Learning that Rantaro had decided not to use the driver today, but instead use the local bus had made everyone who slept over mad, especially Tsumugi.

 

The bus was full as it always was, which meant that if there weren’t two empty seats, both of the pair had to stand up. Which of course happened to a lot of them.

 

Tsumugi, Rantaro, Korekiyo and Miu had gotten their way to the very back, to the row of five seats so all of them could sit together comfortably. Both the boys sat next to each other, separating the two girls. Not that the girls liked each other too much to have anything to talk about anyway.

 

Tenko and Himiko had insisted on sitting together as they _were dating,_ compromising so their partners didn’t have to stand up by leaning their hands over the back of their seat, Kiibo and Ryoma sitting behind them. It was a rather good compromise for all of them.

 

Sadly to Kaede and Maki, they had to stand up with their partners. It wasn’t too bad for Shuichi and Kokichi, as they could have a reunion after being separated from each other for _such a long time._ Angie and Kirumi also stood, but they didn’t seem to mind.

 

Kaito and Gonta managed to sit at the front. The former had learned that Gonta preferred to walk to school as the bus seats had a very limited space, and as he just liked being outside in general. But now, they had joined the others so they could film their ride to school.

 

‘’Okay, so!’’ Kaito yelled at his phone over the loudness of the bus, ‘’We have arrived in the bus and are now going to school! This ain’t the school bus because Rantaro never uses it so he didn’t know which stop we could get on it from! Thank you, Rantaro!’’

 

He seemed to be loud enough to stop each and all chatter in the rest of the bus, and to make Rantaro raise his head enough to notice Kaito and Gonta at the front. He shot them finger guns from the back, which seemed to deeply annoy Tsumugi as her wrist had to be pulled along.

 

‘’Yeah, there’s the traitor!’’ Kaito announced, shaking his head.

 

‘’Uhm, Gonta don’t mean to bother, but Kaito, the bus driver is looking at us funny,’’ Gonta mumbled, nudging his head towards the driver who was straight up glaring at them.

 

Kaito shook his head, disapproving, ‘’No one glares at you, Gonta.’’ He switched the cameras on his phone to zoom into the bus driver and say, ‘’This dude- this fucking dude dares to give Gonta funny looks! Yeah, what’s _your_ problem!?’’

 

And that was the story of how Kaito and Gonta both got thrown out of the bus.

  
  


___________

  
  


Being at school was fairly easy for all of the 80th class, having most of their classes together with the person they were attached to. Probably the only class that had some issues was PE, as the girls’ and boys’ classes were held in separate locations and the whole changing clothes -part would’ve been very awkward.

 

Eventually the matter was settled with everyone - besides, Kaito, Gonta, Kirumi and Angie - skipping class as the other four were attached to a person of the same gender and could actually attend class. How they managed to do anything during the class itself, though, was a mystery to all the others.

 

Suddenly it was lunch, and their whole class was gathered together at the courtyard to eat. _Almost_ their whole class.

 

Kaede was moping into her salad, as she felt bad about ditching class, while Shuichi tried to cheer her up. She insisted that with her being the class president and skipping, she’d be fired from her position. Shuichi tried to insist that they could just ask their psychology teacher to give a note to the PE teachers.

 

Maki and Kokichi were fighting about something irrelevant for the tenth time that very day. This time it might’ve been what happened during last night, why Kokichi kept eating with his mouth open or why Maki had tried to push him out of the window during math class that morning. Which one it was or if it was it all of them, no one would ever know.

 

Meanwhile Korekiyo and Rantaro sat beside them with their respective partners, talking like normal human beings. Tsumugi sat next to Rantaro, eating her lunch in peace while Miu sat on the table in front of them, yelling at Kaede to come over and chat so she wouldn’t be alone, ending up attracting everyone else’s attention from their class besides Kaede’s.

 

The four teens who had actually gone to the gym class were nowhere to be seen.

 

‘’I wonder if they died,’’ Himiko spoke up whilst she sat between Kokichi and Kiibo, drinking the Capri Sun the purple-haired boy had offered her. If he had done anything to the drink and why he had brought Capri Suns to school in the first place remained both a mystery.

 

‘’If I had to spend two hours doing cartwheels with Kokichi, I’d die too,’’ Maki shrugged.

 

Kokichi slammed the juice he was drinking on the table, the contents spilling from the straw. _‘’I think,’’_ he started, slamming his free hand on the table as well, ‘’that I’m going to _fucking_ cry because of you.’’

 

Maki’s eyes widened a bit, seemingly caught off guard by the reaction, but before she could respond with anything, they were interrupted.

 

‘’I want to die,’’ Kaito groaned, approaching the group with Gonta from the distance, looking rather _dead inside._

 

‘’What happened?’’ Shuichi asked, having gotten Kaede to actually eat her food for a change.

 

As the two boys collapsed on the bench next to the table, Kirumi and Angie appeared behind them, also looking very worn out and tired. ‘’The goddamn teachers happened,’’ Kaito scoffed, raising a shaky hand in the air, like he was trying to grasp something out of reach.

 

‘’They- they made us run extra laps because we were all late from class,’’ Kirumi shook her head, trying to sit down as elegantly as possible but ending up almost collapsing like Kaito and Gonta had. ‘’It wasn’t our fault, changing clothing is very difficult with these handcuffs.’’

 

Angie seemed to be crying as she followed her partner to the bench and pressed her forehead on the table. ‘’They wouldn’t even let me pray for Atua to save me,’’ she mumbled. ''So... many... laps... My feet... bleeding...''

 

‘’I- I want to sleep,’’ Gonta admitted, pulling out his lunch box and resting his head on it as well.

 

‘’Those bastards broke Gonta,’’ Ryoma huffed, shaking his head as he finished eating his lunch.

 

Tenko scrunched up her nose before covering it with her hand. ‘’Gross, you boys stink!’’ She pulled on her sleeve to offer extra protection to her nose so she wouldn’t have to smell whatever it was that she was smelling.

 

‘’You think? We didn’t even notice,’’ Kaito scoffed, running a hand through his hair which was tied in a man bun, probably because of the fact that he had just ran multiple laps during gym class. ‘’Mister What’s-his-face wouldn’t let us shower if we _kept these metal things on and remained being inconsiderate towards the faculty and the other students,’’_ he imitated the teacher’s voice, raising a finger to make the point clear.

 

‘’So you guys just came here, all sweaty?’’ Rantaro raised an eyebrow, seeming both shocked and amused. ‘’That’s confidence if I’ve ever seen any.’’

 

‘’At least we went to the goddamn class!’’ Kaito groaned as he furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. ‘’I covered like - my _entire body_ with deodorant, so shut up!’’

 

‘’Gonta can confirm,’’ the boy attached to him admitted, bowing his head down.

 

Miu snorted, turning her head towards Maki, ‘’So that’s y’all’s man?’’ She chuckled mockingly, ‘’Can’t relate.’’

 

Before she could see Maki’s reaction, she was already pushed off the table, landing on the grass on the ground, though her legs hit the concrete underneath the table before she rolled herself on the grass. Of course Korekiyo was pulled with her, as they were connected by the handcuffs. Both of them tumbled on the ground as Maki stood up with a rather angry expression on her face and her arms crossed.

 

‘’That’s my girl,’’ Kaito chuckled.

 

‘’Not very funny, Kaito,’’ Korekiyo sighed, getting up on his knees and looking over at Miu to see if she got hurt in any way. She got stumbled up to a sitting position as well, her knees looking rather scraped up from hitting the concrete, and she was clearly holding back tears.

 

‘’Woah, are you guys alright?’’ Rantaro asked with a worried tone in his voice. He leaned towards the two, offering a hand to Korekiyo.

 

The other boy took his hand, using it to get up on his feet as Miu continued to sit down. ‘’I think I'm fine, but Miu looks a little hurt,’’ It was possible he was frowning under his mask, but no one could know.

 

‘’I- I’m fine, you big fucker!’’ Miu insisted, trying to stand up while quietly whining from the pain, unconsciously leaning on Korekiyo to get up. Eventually she did so and glared at Maki, pointing a finger at her with narrowed eyes. ‘’You. You’re a _hoe.’’_

 

A silence fell upon the entire table.

  


Surprisingly, Tsumugi was the first one to crack and start laughing, covering her mouth with her hand. Maki herself and Kaito followed, chuckling and laughing so much it hurt as everyone else followed their lead and started guffawing and chortling like there was no tomorrow.

 

At some point Kaito had pulled out his phone and was now filming the whole table, all bent over the table and laughing and giggling, him still letting out chuckles himself, ‘’So, um- _ahah_ \- this is the 80th class for y’all-’’

 

The only ones not laughing were Gonta and Korekiyo, which wasn’t that big of a surprise as Gonta most likely didn’t get the joke, and Korekiyo… well, he didn’t laugh too much in front of the others.

 

‘’Okay- okay- but, seriously talking,’’ Kaede spoke once they all had calmed down a little. ‘’Do you need to go to the nurse, Miu?’’ She pointed at the said girl’s knees, blood now running down her exposed legs.

 

 _‘’Oh, shit,’’_ Miu blinked, looking down at her knees.

 

‘’Woah, I- I’m sorry,’’ Maki’s eyes widened with worry she’d never admit she had towards the other girl. “I don’t know what came over me,” and as she said it, she looked actually apologetic.

 

“It’s alright, I guess,” Miu seemed to frown.

 

Kirumi gathered herself, sitting up straight. “I would clean your wound, but I have to admit I doubt I can even get up after having to run for two hours, I apologize,” she frowned, Angie still sighing from being tired beside her.

 

“Okay, I’ll just drag Kiyo with me, I guess,” the girl shrugged, tugging on the handcuff to get Korekiyo - who had seemingly sat back down at some point - to stand up again. “Not that he’d have a choice.”

 

“Growing so fond of me already?” Korekiyo asked, and one could think he was smirking.

 

“Um, _gross!_ Of course not,” Miu basically spat out, crossing her arms and by accident tugging on the boy’s handcuff again.

 

Tenko raised a hand, declaring loudly, “Good for you, Miu! You _don’t_ need a man!”

 

“Uh, y-yeah, let’s just go,” a crimson shade appeared on her cheeks before she turned around to drag Korekiyo away, towards the actual school building.

 

After the two had left, Rantaro turned around from looking after them and faced the rest of the group. “Did something seem off just now or is it just me?”

 

“I guess everyone would be kind of off if they had their knees bleeding like that,” Tsumugi shrugged, missing the point entirely.

 

Kaito’s phone was zoomed closer to Rantaro’s face as he spoke, “Do you mean that perhaps our lil’ kid Miu has a crush on the weirdo anthropologist?”

 

“Please. Never talk like that again,” Maki sighed. ''Maybe never talk again in general.''

 

Kokichi placed a thoughtful finger on his chin, tugging Maki’s wrist in order to do that. “I don’t know if Miu is really capable of having _real_ feelings. Like, she’s always just horny and she basically hates Kiyo,” he shrugged as Shuichi wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling his boyfriend closer and annoying Maki in the process.

 

“That’s oddly serious of you, Kokichi,” Kaede noted.

 

“The psychology teacher is getting some fun material to watch,” Ryoma shook his head in amusement. _“Cursed,_ but fun material.”

 

Rantaro frowned as he spoke, “Sorry, let’s change topics.”

 

“Um,” Himiko started, looking rather uncomfortable as she tugged on Kiibo’s sleeve. “Kiibo, I gotta use the bathroom.”

 

The poor boy’s eyes went wide as did a few others’ in the group, realising they might have to face this issue later on too. “Wh-what?” Kiibo stuttered, almost dropping the cup of noodles he was eating. “Can’t you... hold it in?!”

 

“Until midnight?” Himiko raised an eyebrow, annoyed. “Just follow me to the girls’ bathroom, you’ll wait outside the stall.”

 

Kokichi leaned closer to Shuichi’s ear, acting like he was going to whisper, yet continuing to speak loud enough so everyone in the table could hear, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that this was going to turn into a porn.”

 

If the situation had been an anime, three red exclamation marks would’ve popped up on the side of Tenko’s head as she stood up, Ryoma’s hand following after her. “Absolutely not! If you have to use the bathroom, I’ll come with you so I can protect you from that degenerate!” she declared sharply, swinging her free hand through the air.

 

“You must be kidding, woman,” Ryoma said, for once seeming rather mortified. “I have a reputation, I can’t go inside a girls’ bathroom!”

 

“How about the whole class goes in at once and gets it over with?” Maki sighed, shaking her head.

 

“Actually… I kinda have to go too,” Kaede admitted, embarrassed. Shuichi’s arm dropped from around Kokichi, along with his mouth.

 

“Wh- what? No, I couldn’t-”

 

“Maki and I could watch the door so no one else comes in!” Kokichi suggested, smiling an innocent smile and leaning against Shuichi’s shaking shoulder.

 

Rantaro chuckled, “This is so messed up, we all better get an A.”

  
  


____________

  
  


The last period was quick to come, each of the class having noticed how annoying the handcuffs were after all. Eating was difficult, writing was difficult, going to the bathroom was difficult. In the morning it hadn’t strained their wrists too much, but then the situations kept repeating and repeating and by now everyone was _done_ with them.

 

Of course, to their luck, their last period was their English exam. They were lucky enough to get to sit next to whoever they were chained to, but the distance had to be as long as the chain itself, which meant they had to keep their arms extented the whole time, which sucked for the people who had their dominant hand cuffed and had to write with their other one.

 

One memorable event was when Kokichi had finished his exam before Maki and got up from his seat to return it, apparently either not remembering or simply ignoring the fact that he was chained to the girl, and the next thing that happened was Maki falling down from her chair, in the hallway between their two desks, face-first on the floor.

 

She had mumbled something about Kokichi dying before following him to return his exam and then returning to her seat, glaring at the boy. Meanwhile everyone in the room had done their best to hold back the laughter, trying to focus on the exam itself.

  


After class everyone gathered together to go over the answers, as usual. They settled in the hallway in the same floor as the classroom they had just been in, sitting on the floor next to some lockers.

 

“What’d you guys put in question four?” Angie asked as she tried to remember all the questions present on the exam paper. ‘’I put… C, I think.’’

 

“Me too,’’ Kaede smiled, ‘’It asked about the… adverb, right?”

 

“Yes. It was C,” Kirumi hummed in approval, sitting next to Angie as the artist drew something in the notebook she had in her hands. “It was one of the easier questions.”

 

Kaito groaned, “Well, fuck. Gonta, I thought you put D so I put it too!”

 

Everyone’s gaze snapped towards Kaito, glaring at him. Kiibo was the one to speak up, “You… you cheated off of Gonta?” He furrowed his brows along with the rest of the class.

 

“Ahah,” Kaito scratched the back of his head with a nervous grin on his face before looking up at the clock on the wall. “Oh, _won’t you look at the time!_ I have to get going!”

 

Korekiyo shook his head as the other boy tried to stand up and run away. “I hope you remember we were supposed to spend this day together as we have these handcuffs,” he said, glancing up at Kaito. The latter swallowed and sat back down next to Gonta.

 

“...Continue.”

 

“Miu,” Kaede interrupted the disaster which was probably going to follow if she let the conversation go on, “I didn’t have the chance to ask before, how are your knees?”  


“Oh!” The inventor’s eyes shot up from her phone. “They’re fine,” she shrugged, straightening her legs in front of her to show off her bandaged knees, the bandages matching the color of her skin. “Walking kinda hurts, but I’ll survive. I’m too fucking strong to be dragged down by a little scratch.”

 

“You won’t believe how many times she has almost fallen,” Korekiyo sighed, pressing the base of his palm against his forehead.

 

“I can believe it,” Rantaro mumbled, leaning back on the floor with his elbows. Kaito and Maki shared a suspecting glance at that, along with Kaede and Shuichi. “But, guys, should we get going to my place now?”

 

“We didn’t go over the whole exa-” Angie started, but was cut off by Kirumi shushing her.

 

“Read the room, Angie, read the room.”

 

“Don’t we have book club today-” Kiibo asked, but soon came to realise his own mistake and cut his sentence off.

 

“Excuse me, Kiibo, but what the fuck?” Kokichi blinked, raising his eyebrows at the other boy. “We don’t talk about that.”

 

Kiibo swallowed, fiddling with his fingers. “R-right, I knew that. Let’s go.”

 

Tsumugi checked the clock from her phone and sighed with euphoria, “Only nine hours left, I can’t wait.” Her smile was more apparent than at any other point during the day.

 

“Gonta will miss Kaito!” Gaito frowned, nudging the other boy in the arm with gentleness never seen before. “You’re a good running partner.”

 

“God, this is getting too soft, let’s go,” Maki whined, standing up abruptly and yanking Kokichi with her. “The bus is coming in like… five minutes, too.”

 

All the rest of the groups stood up with a few sighs, gathering their bags and other belongings together. The four who had actually attended the PE lesson took a little more time, most likely because of their legs aching. The others had nothing but respect towards them.

 

“Do you guys think that we’ll do this again sometime?” Shuichi asked as all of them began walking towards the front door of the building, all sixteen of them. “Like, for fun?”

 

“You can do whatever you want with Kokichi in the bedroom, but leave us out of it, please!” Angie shook her head, smiling at her own remark.

 

Tenko basically jumped. “Oh god, now I can’t get the vision out of my head! Help!” she yelled, covering her lips with her free hand.

 

Meanwhile Shuichi turned red, adding the necessary amount of speed into his walking so no one could be able to see his face. Kokichi chuckled and ran after him. “Don’t be so embarrassed, Saihara, it’s not like she’s wrong!’’ the corner of his lips tugged up in a mischievous smirk.

 

“This is the reason we can’t have fun things,” Ryoma sighed with defeat, tugging on his hat.

 

 

 


	6. Bonded4lyfe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Angie breaks a vase- and oh, right, they're also dumb children being handcuffed to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *cuts this chapter into two parts to make it shorter*
> 
> Also, this chapter: *9 goddamn k words*
> 
>  
> 
> Have fun, the text's your problem now-

 

 

One could think being handcuffed to someone while laying on the floor and doing homework would be easy, but they’d be wrong. Trying to write something down, erase something or just read something while someone is doing the same and is attached to you is a pain. You’re either bumping into each other every two seconds or you can’t keep a steady hand because the other is moving. The class didn’t remember it being this difficult at school.

 

“That’s it, I give up,” Tsumugi announced, throwing her math notebook across the air, landing on Himiko’s back. “Rantaro, you don’t need to shake your hand every two seconds.”

 

“But there’s no ink coming out of my pen,” the boy whined, once again shaking the black pen in the hand attached to Tsumugi’s. “And I don’t want to get up to get another one.”

 

Kaito rolled around to look at him, bumping into Gonta in the process. “You’re doing your homework with a pen?” He raised an eyebrow. _“Respect.”_

 

“Just - use a pencil,” Tsumugi sighed, running a hand over her frustrated face.

 

Miu chuckled, “I can’t believe y’all are actually doing homework.” She sat on one of the couches with Korekiyo next to her, him doing the required work instead of just sitting there doing nothing.

 

“We all know you’re just gonna do yours at midnight once you get home,” Himiko shook her head while writing something down on a paper, clearly not noticing the open notebook laying on her back.

 

“N-no, I’m not!”

 

“You’re as good of a liar as Kaede is at pretending she’s not eating all the cookies Kirumi prepared for us,” Korekiyo informed, shooting a look at Kaede laying on the floor, their eyes meeting. She was clearly hiding multiple cookies under one of her notebooks. She immediately looked away with a blush, swallowing the bite of the cookie she had in her mouth at the moment.

 

Korekiyo felt a sharp tug at his wrist as Miu pulled on the chain. “Bad dog, Korekiyo,” she shook her head, catching him off guard. “You’re not even actually doing your homework, liar.”

 

He simply just replied with a chuckle. “Yes, because I did everything necessary in class. I’m starting the essay we have to do for next week. Wouldn’t want to do it in a rush later.”

 

“I didn’t even think of that,” Rantaro groaned, tossing his book aside. “Here I am, doing my dumb physics homework. What do we even need it for?”

 

“To know basic facts about things like motion and energy,” Tsumugi commented silently.

 

Tenko yawned, covering her mouth with her hand and pulling Ryoma’s along at the same time. “The health class homework is really boring,” she commented, shaking her head. “We should go outside and fight!”

 

“Uh, we _literally_ can’t,” Shuichi arched an eyebrow in her direction. “We’d die.”

 

“Yeah, _you_ would-”

 

A loud crash interrupted their conversation. With a simple look to the left, everyone could notice that a vase had been knocked down from the coffee table, Angie staring at the dark pieces on top of the light parquet, the vase having barely missed the carpet. She scratched the back of her head slowly as she cautiously turned to face the others, a nervous smile on her face.

 

“Uh… it wasn’t me?” She let out a laugh, her voice cracking lightly before she panicked and slammed her palms together, - making Kirumi do an unnatural move as her wrist was dragged along - closing her eyes and starting to mumble something to herself. “Dear Atua, please save me-” was the only audible thing anyone could hear.

 

Rantaro blinked a few times, not exactly sure how to react, or perhaps he couldn’t really process the situation at first. “I… think that’s enough studying for today,” he decided, the books in front of him finding their way back in his bag which lay next to them in a rush.

 

No one seemed to mind having to quit working, books swiftly packed and pencils and pens out of sight and out of mind. Himiko seemed to think the notebook on her back was hers and stuffed it in her bag too, ignoring the small whine escaping from Tsumugi.

 

“What should we do now?” Shuichi asked.

 

“I shall clean up the shards of the broken vase,” Kirumi commented, getting up in order to go get the cleaning supplies and interrupting Angie’s pray in the process. “I apologize for her behavior, Rantaro.”

 

“It’s alright, but I can clean it up, really,” Rantaro insisted, waving his free hand through the air like he was brushing something off.

 

It was a tight smile that Kirumi let out, shaking her head. “I’d rather be of service than just sit around doing nothing,” and once she was finished she was already getting up with Angie and going to get the cleaning supplies.

 

A silence was left looming over the group, everyone thinking of what they could possibly do now.

 

Not too surprisingly, Miu was the one to suggest something first. “Let’s play hide and seek!” she yelled, clapping her hands together and managing to annoy Korekiyo in the process.

 

“Really? Where you have to hide with _your_ partner?” Rantaro raised an eyebrow, a hint of annoyance on his face.

 

His arguments were drained out by the others’ excitement, Tenko’s sharp _“I’ll search first!”,_ and Ryoma’s defeated sigh.

 

“It’s decided, let’s go hide!” Miu grinned, getting up and pulling her partner with her. “I know a great place!” How she apparently knew a great place to hide in in _Rantaro’s_ house remained a mystery to the others.

 

“If we’re doing this, no one can go to my sisters’ or my dad’s room, okay?” Rantaro sighed, aiming a knowing look at Kaede and Shuichi, both of them blushing while the former grabbed yet another cookie from the plate Kirumi had earlier laid on the coffee table. “And let’s keep it inside the house!” he pleaded, running a hand through his hair as a few of the group already started frantically looking around for possible hiding spots.

 

“I’ll count to one hundred and I’ll find each of you dumb guys!” Tenko declared, hopping on a couch and covering her eyes with her hands, Ryoma flying along with her. “One! Two!”

 

Kokichi got up in a flash, tugging Maki to come along. _“Maaaaki Rollll,_ let’s go hide!” he whined with a smug smile on his face as she reluctantly followed him outside of the living room.

 

“Where are we going?” Maki asked, a little afraid of the answer as Kokichi led the poor girl inside the library in the first floor, clearly surprised to discover that the room was indeed a library.

 

“Holy shit, Rantaro’s dad has been getting that coin,” he blinked, looking around the shelves filled with books. Slowly, his poker face turned into a mischievous grin. “Let’s climb on top of one of the shelves. No one ever looks up.”

 

“That’s dumb-” she started, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Maki glanced back at the wooden door behind them. People’s yells outside it were audible yet no one was actually coming inside the room they were in. She sighed, defeated, “If we fall off because of you, you’re dying.”

 

“Understandable,” the shorter of them nodded and started dragging Maki by the chain between them, towards the wide bookcase closest to the door.

 

Kokichi raised his leg, placing a foot to nudge some books away from one of the lower shelves. “We’ll have to climb at the same time so we will make it,” he commented, apparently expecting that that’d make the next move obvious as he flung his hands up to grab the wooden edges of the case, pulling Maki’s wrist up by force.

 

“What the-” she let out something resembling a gasp as the shorter of them continued to climb, forcing her to follow behind him or get her wrist cut off. The latter sounded like the better option in all honesty, but Maki decided to climb up with him nevertheless with a sigh.

 

When they got to the top of the shelf, it was a lot thinner than they had expected, having to lean against the wall so they wouldn’t fall off. Though, with their knees pulled up to their chests or legs crossed, they could manage without completely exposing themselves. The top was also a lot higher than expected, which meant falling off would’ve definitely hurt if it were to happen. There was a big chance they wouldn’t get seen any time soon.

 

“I bet my ass we won’t get found,” Kokichi offered with a smug smirk on his face.

 

Maki sighed, “I really, _really_ don’t want to own that if I win.”

 

  
Meanwhile Miu was dragging Korekiyo along her journey, leading the boy towards the first floor bathroom next to the kitchen. She didn’t seem to mind the way the handcuff dug into her skin when she ran _one bit._

 

There was a room between the hall and the actual bathroom, something resembling both an utility and a changing room. Korekiyo was more familiar to the area as he was closer friends with Rantaro and therefore knew the basic layout of the house.

 

“We have time, is the running really necessary?” Korekiyo let out something resembling a whine, walking behind the girl with his hand straight in front of him so it wouldn’t hurt his wrist, his pose almost matching a zombie’s.

 

Miu shook her head as she snorted, opening the door to the bathroom, _“Obviously,_ we don’t want other people to steal our spot!” and with that, she had already yanked the unsuspecting boy inside the room, closing the door behind them. “Rantaro’s got a sauna in here, he’s _really_ been getting that coin!”

 

“I feel as if I’m going to have a headache from all the things you let out of your mouth soon,” Korekiyo sighed, his free hand rubbing his temple with two fingers, his eyes closed in frustration. After a moment of Miu _not_ replying to his statement, he continued, “But I think I realise what you’re getting at. We’re hiding in the sauna, yes?”

 

A grin quickly formed on the girl’s face, replacing the kind of empty expression she had on just seconds earlier. “Under the boards, baby!” she declared, pulling the boy through the shower area and inside the sauna, slamming the glass door behind them shut.

 

The room was hot, even if the sauna wasn’t on. It wasn’t too pleasant to be in there, but Miu continued to drag Korekiyo under the boards one would normally sit on when using the space, sitting at the very corner on the tiled floor, not even acknowledging the bandages on her knees anymore. Thankfully, it wasn’t as warm under the boards as it was above them.

 

“I’m not sure we’ll survive in this heat for too long,” Korekiyo thought out loud, settling on the floor next to Miu. “Perhaps we’ll be found first?”

 

“Sissy, the point is to be found last,” Miu scoffed, playfully nudging the boy beside her in the ribs with a chuckle. He rolled his eyes, but she just continued with a laugh, “You can’t escape my wrath, Shinguji.”

  


“Agh! _Kaede!”_ Shuichi let out a yelp one floor up from the sauna, after being shoved into the closet inside of Rantaro’s room, the hung up dress shirts he had _never_ seen the actual owner of the closet wear surrounding him from each side.

 

Soon Kaede joined him, pushing inside and sliding the closet door shut in front of them. The space was surprisingly limited as there were some boxes and other things on the dark floor, so her shoulder dug into the side of Shuichi’s arm. Not that they could’ve had too much space with their hands cuffed to each other.

 

“Let’s just keep quiet, they’re probably coming here to search soon,” Kaede whispered, holding up a finger to her lips in the dark and turning to glance at Shuichi so her hair tickled the side of his face.

 

“A-ah, yeah,” he muttered, his free hand going up to scratch the back of his head but instead hitting the closet wall behind him, eliciting a loud sound from it. Defeated, he let his hand fall back down. “Sorry…”

 

“By the way, I wanted to ask…” she continued instead of keeping silent like she had initiated. Shuichi could feel her breath on his cheek now and his own breath hitched in his throat. “You and Kokichi are dating, right?”

 

He gulped, “Um, I think so… We - aren’t _exactly_ official yet…”

 

“Ah, okay. I’m happy for you then!” Kaede smiled in the darkness, turning her head to face the closet door again. “Props to Kokichi, though.”

 

“...Eh?” Shuichi let out what sounded like a squeal, a way, _way_ too loud of a squeal.

 

Kaede didn’t respond.

 

“H-hey, what does that mean?” he asked, gathering up as much courage as he could before reaching forward in the dark, looking for her wrist and finally grabbing it once he found it.

 

Shuichi definitely hadn’t expected Kaede to let out a muffled cry at that, sounding as if she had clamped her free hand over her mouth to silence it. With panic in his eyes, he quickly let go.

 

“Kaede…?”

 

“It’s nothing, my wrist has just been hurting because of the handcuffs,” she assured him, voice quieter than usual. Soon, her ecstatic voice was back, “Let’s keep quiet now so we can win, we can’t lose to the others!”

 

“Y-yeah, let’s.”

  
  
  


“100!” Tenko yelled, revealing her face from underneath her hands and peeking over the back of the couch. She could notice Ryoma doing the same next to her, looking less than enthusiastic. Of course, she ignored his boredom. “Ready or not, here I come!”

 

And with that she hopped off the couch, Ryoma following reluctantly after her as she made a beeline towards the hall, out of the living room.

 

“Aren’t we gonna check the living room?” Ryoma asked as he glanced up at her, yawning as if he was already bored out of his mind. “Someone could be trolling-”

 

_“You know, I’m starting to think you have some kind of a problem with me!”_ a boy’s yell (probably meant as a whisper) came from the dining hall area, interrupting the short boy.

 

He blinked. “...Nevermind.”  


Tenko shook her head with a snort, “Those guys are _so_ busted!” She raised a finger to her lips, initiating the other to be silent as she started sneaking towards the dining hall, raising her knees way higher than necessary like a cartoon character would do.

 

_“I don’t! What reason would I have to have that?_ ”

 

A muffled chuckle escaped Tenko’s lips as she jumped inside the dining hall through the archway all of a sudden, yanking Ryoma with her, him almost letting out a gasp.

 

No one was there. Only the dining table with its chairs and tablecloth which reached the seat part of the chairs. There wasn’t any other notable furniture one could hide behind, and when Tenko crouched down, to her utter confusion, she couldn’t see anyone sitting under the table either.

 

_“I don’t know? You’ve been acting like I’m super repulsive all day,”_ the voices continued, clearly not having noticed Tenko’s less-than-elegant hop inside the room. Strangely, the noises were coming from the table, though no one was under it.

 

_“...Fine. I didn’t want to be mean, but I think that you think a little too highly of yourself.”_

 

_“...Sorry?”_

 

_“You asked and so I replied! I didn’t want to say it!”_

 

Ryoma’s face was filled with confusion as he walked towards the front of the table, still no sign of any physical presence of someone, though he knew, along with Tenko, who the voices belonged to.

 

_“How am I supposed to reply to that…?”_

 

And with that, Tenko had kneeled down next to Ryoma and snatched the tablecloth up with both her hands, forcing Ryoma to raise his other one as well.

 

They were met with Rantaro and Tsumugi, both laying on their stomachs on the dining chairs on each side of the table, their arms extended straight under the table so they could manage in the position. The tablecloth had just and just covered their bodies laying on the chairs. Both of the pairs stared blankly at the other, blinking and confused.

 

Rantaro was the first one to speak up, chuckling nervously, “Well this isn’t awkward-”

 

“You rascals can settle this outside, we have people to find,” Ryoma interrupted before he could finish, pointing towards the archway with his thumb. “We ain’t got time for your little feud.”

 

“Absolutely not!” Tenko snapped, glaring at the two teens laying on the chairs. “Tsumugi not liking Rantaro is completely understandable, and besides, we have to go find the others! We can’t let them get too smug!”

 

“Excuse me-”

 

“You know, Tenko… you keep resembling Ishimaru more and more each day,” Tsumugi commented with a frown as she carefully got down from the three chairs she was laying on, landing on her knees underneath the table.

 

“Do you guys ever wonder why we only know the 77th and 78th class, but not the 79th?” Ryoma asked while Rantaro made his best efforts to get off the chairs he was on, rolling off them without too much of a struggle.

 

No one replied for who knows what reason as Rantaro and Tsumugi crawled up from under the table, the former looking more upset than… well, ever. They stood up, the rattling handcuffs between them being the only sound in the silence that had fallen upon the four of them.

 

“Anyways,” Tenko began, dropping the tablecloth from her grasp and standing back up with a roll of her shoulders. “Let’s go look for the others!”

 

“Let’s _not_ split up, I don’t really want to be alone right now,” Tsumugi commented, following Tenko and Ryoma out of the room with Rantaro walking behind her, huffing silently.

 

They looked through the entrance hall, kitchen and the living room, their results unsuccessful. Kirumi and Angie had been in the living room, not participating, as they had apparently gotten the cleaning supplies while Ryoma and Tenko were in the dining hall. It wasn’t until they started to head towards the room at the end of the hall they remembered as some sort of a library, past the more than luxurious stairs that all four of them froze.

 

The stairs were those kind of _rich people_ stairs, ones that curved to show off the detailed railing in all of its glory. Under the stairs was empty space, ignoring the few pillars that held the whole thing up. The space continued until the very start of the stairs at the bottom, meaning that the space at the bottom was very slim, getting bigger towards the top. Usually the space went ignored, but not now.

 

Kaito and Gonta, in all of their elegance, were sitting on the floor beneath the stairs, as close to the bottom as they could with knees pulled up to their chests, back slouched so they could sit with it touching the underside of the stairs. Neither of them seemed to notice the other four as they were silently whispering to each other, Kaito holding his phone in his hand and apparently filming.

 

Tenko blinked, annoyance covering her face. “We can see you!” she yelled, crossing her arms and making Ryoma let out a grunt. “What the hell kinda hiding spot is this?!”

 

The boys’ eyes snapped towards the group, widening in fear for a second.

 

“We- we couldn’t find a better place!” Kaito began, getting defensive as he slid himself forward in order to stand up, Gonta following after him. His eyes settled on Rantaro and Tsumugi, and he let out a mocking laugh. “At least we weren’t found first!”

 

“Oh boy…” Tsumugi shook her head, pressing a hand against her cheek. “Our hiding spot was better, if I may say. Nothing is even covering you from the public eye!”

 

“I thought you guys would just walk past us! There’s never anything here!” Kaito groaned as he stood up, grabbing one of the pillars for support.

 

Gonta frowned, “Does this mean we lost?”

 

“No, these idiots lost,” Ryoma nudged at Tsumugi and Rantaro standing beside him, both growing red. “They started arguing while hiding,” he shook his head in disapproval, starting to walk away from the scene and expecting everyone to follow him.

 

And they did, walking behind him towards the library.

 

“We only have… four pairs to find, right?” Kaito asked, counting with his fingers and lowering them in a rush when he noticed the others glancing at him. “I mean, since eight of us are still hiding, you know?” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

 

“No shit, Sherlock,” Ryoma sighed, nudging open the double doors to the library and stepping in, being greeted by multiple rows of bookcases. It almost looked like a real library, but the atmosphere was a lot cozier and darker. At first glance there was no one there.

 

Tenko decided to take the lead and drag her partner deeper inside of the room, leaving the others at the door. They looked around briefly, nothing seeming out of the ordinary, if you didn’t acknowledge the fact that Rantaro’s family really had a whole room as a library in their house.

 

“Oh, I bet there are some real interesting books in here!” Tsumugi chirped, letting her gaze travel across the very first bookcase next to the door. All of them seemed very tall, having a lot of shelves to hold books in.

 

“I feel like someone is hiding here. I can feel it,” Kaito stated, nudging Gonta to follow him in the depths of the room, peeking past every corner as they went. He held his phone high and zoomed into every detail he found suspicious.

 

Eventually all six of them came to a conclusion that no one was there, not even when Kaito swore he had heard Kokichi’s laugh somewhere. There weren’t even any smart places to hide in in there, no secret doors or cabinets or anything similar to that, so the group had to admit their defeat and move on.

 

Before they could do that, though, Kaito stopped Gonta from leaving the room with a nudge. He turned his phone to the front camera and raised a finger to his lips, smirking. The door before them fell shut, marking the absence of the other four in their group.

 

“I knew they wouldn’t notice us, they’re _dumb,”_ came a silent chuckle from somewhere up.

 

_“Aha!”_ Kaito yelled, turning the camera to face up, above the bookcase right next to the door. From the angle, he couldn’t see anything on top of it.

 

He moved along with Gonta to the front of the case to look up again, but no one was on top of it, leaving both of them confused.

 

“Perhaps ghosts live here,” Gonta suggested with a frown.

 

“I’m _right here,_ idiots,” came another chuckle from somewhere around them, still from above.

 

Kaito groaned, trying to aim his phone to film the top of the surrounding bookcases without a result, “Kokichi, you little shit! Where are you?” He furrowed his brows, getting on his tiptoes to see better, as if someone was able to hide in the small angle between the bookcase and the wall. There was some kind of a vent there, but its cover was in place and it looked tiny anyways.

 

“Why, I’m right over here! Come and get me, big boy!” came a yell from yet another spot in the room, now from deeper in the room.

 

Both of the two boys ran to the other end of the room, towards the big windows at the back, but yet again, not finding an indication of any human life there either.

 

“Gonta thinks maybe Kokichi is invisible,” Gonta suggested, glancing at Kaito. “Or maybe he’s hopping from one bookcase to the other.”

 

“That’s not possible, Maki’s hiding with him and they couldn’t move smoothly like that,” the other shook his head, still glancing over the top of the bookcases he could see. “Maki Roll! Olly olly oxen free, we give up!”

 

“Pussies,” Kokichi’s snort was heard yet again, and this time the other two boys realised it sounded really muffled. Maybe…

 

“Are you even in the damn room!?” Kaito yelled, urging Gonta to walk back to the front of the room again, but the other didn’t budge yet. “I swear to god, if you’re not-”

 

To both their surprise, a loud sound of metal was heard from the other direction, the start of the room. Their legs didn’t waste any time, leading them there in a rush.

 

Kokichi and Maki were sitting on top of the same bookcase the vent was at, their hairs filled with static and a mess. The former was grinning, the smile reaching from one ear to the other, as Maki looked rather uncomfortable with the state of herself.

 

“Where the hell-”

 

“In the walls,” Kokichi smirked, running a hand through his purple hair, visible dust flying off it. He was dangling his legs from the top of the case, like an innocent child. “Maki noticed a vent on top of the bookcase, leading inside, and because we’re _sooo_ tiny and delicate.… we went there!”

 

“I hate this place so much,” Maki shook her head.

 

“You went into a vent- Kokichi, did you break Maki to do that?” Kaito asked, eyes widening a little.

 

“She was already like that when I found her!” the said boy insisted, crossing his arms in defense. “It’s not my fault she hates spiders!”

 

“You… hate spiders?” Gonta asked, furrowing his brows just the tiniest bit.

 

Maki blinked. “No, of course not, let’s go find the others!” she rushed, edging herself closer towards the end of the bookcase before apparently realising that jumping down would most likely get her hurt. Climbing down wasn’t really possible, since they were sitting on the wrong sides for them to turn around and climb down with their face towards the bookcase, and the top of the case was too thin for them to change places. “What… do I do?” she blinked.

 

Now it was Kaito’s turn to grin as he stepped forward, meeting the eyes of the girl who sat at least a feet and a half above him. “You can count on me with this, _Buttercup_. Jump, I’ll catch you,” he smirked, spreading his arms wide.

 

She blinked, a poker face decorating her look, but Kaito knew her well enough to know that he _fucked_ up.

 

“Yeah… I’ll take my chances with the floor.”

 

“Come on!” Kaito groaned. “If it’s about Kokichi, we can let him fall on the floor!”

 

“I’m right fucking here, asshole,” the said boy hissed as he sat right next to Maki, glaring down at the other boy. _“Butterface-ass-bitch.”_

 

“That’s just mean!”

 

Gonta joined in the conversation, wanting to stop the fight before it had the chance to even break out, “Gonta can catch Kokichi if he jumps! Like a real gentleman!”

 

“Or that,” Kaito nodded slowly, considering all of the possibilities in his mind. Finally he looked back up and pleaded, “Come on, Maki Roll! I wanna catch you, like they do in movies!”

 

Maki rolled her eyes. She seemed to measure the length between her and the floor below with her gaze, weighing her possible options. “On some level, that could be considered romantic.” She sighed, rolling back her shoulders, “If you drop me, you’re dead, Kaito.”

 

“I wouldn’t dare!” he insisted. “Literally, because I feel like you could actually kill me if you felt like it…”

 

“I can’t believe I’m about to quote Miu, but,” Kokichi started, a mischievous smirk decorating his lips, “Is that y’all’s mans? _Can’t relate.”_

 

Kaito didn’t even mind as he chuckled, “Press F to pay respects.”

 

“Please don’t press F, but jump, so we can get you down safely!” Gonta frowned, his arms spread out like the boy’s standing next to him.

 

“Alright, if I die, _I die,”_ Kokichi decided, actually _shrugging_ as if he didn’t care about getting hurt. It was possible that he didn’t, but no one could ever tell.

 

Maki’s eyes widened as she turned her head to look at him, his hands on the edge, ready to push himself off.

 

“Wait-”

 

And so Kokichi jumped off, pulling Maki with him with the force of his weight.

 

Like the whole situation was straight out of a movie, they both landed in the other two boys’ arms without a problem, the only pain attacking their wrists as the handcuffs didn’t react too well to being pulled in two different directions. Neither of the boys even faltered when they catched them, like they didn’t weigh anything at all.

  
Gonta was quicker to let Kokichi down, gently placing him on his feet on the ground.

 

“Aw, man! You felt like a giant teddy bear,” Kokichi whined, frowning at how he had to stand up himself.

  
“Gonta is literally the human embodiment of a teddy bear,” Maki shook her head, Kaito’s arms wrapped around her upper back and the back of her knees. She glanced at him, her arms having found their way around his neck, probably from thinking she was going to die when she got pulled off the shelf, but they quickly retreated when she noticed them.

 

“You can let me down now, Kaito.”

 

“But you’re so light and soft, buttercup,” he whined, only holding her closer. “And you smell good.”

 

“I swear to god, if you call me buttercup one more time-”

 

“Oh shit, this is about to turn into some PG-13 stuff,” Kokichi cut in, grinning. “Don’t mind us, go ahead!”

 

At that, Maki kicked herself free from Kaito’s arms in an instant, landing on the floor without a struggle. She stood up straight and sighed. “Let’s just go find the others, okay?”

 

“The _one_ time we saw Maki showing a sign of being affectionate,” the shortest of the boys whined, a visible pout on his face. Quickly, as if was all a facade, as it probably was, his face twisted into a grin. “Oh, well, it’s not like you can fight the will of God!”

 

“...Shut up.”

  
  


Tenko and Ryoma made their way up the stairs, deciding that the four teens they had already found could search the rest of the ground floor alone.

 

There probably weren’t too many people hiding up on the second floor, as there were only the forbidden bedrooms, two bathrooms which didn’t have a proper place for anyone to hide in, a home office which turned out to be locked and a way too big of a balcony at the end of one of the hallways, but it could’ve been considered outdoors, a.k.a not allowed. No one was even in the hallways themselves. The only room left was Rantaro’s bedroom.

 

“Should we have checked the basement?” Ryoma asked as they walked towards the room next to one of the bathrooms, the one that looked like an innocent, white door from the outside but had the whole surface of it scribbled with autographs and dumb messages everyone had left while either drunk or just stupid.

 

Tenko shook her head, grabbing the door handle. “The door is always _sooo_ loud, we would’ve heard it,” she decided before pressing the object in her hand down and stepping inside of the room, turning the light switch on at the same time.

 

As the lights turned on, no one was in sight, as expected. The more than a huge room held many possible hiding spots, though, as it had a lot of furniture in it.

 

“I would’ve expected he kept this place more messy,” Ryoma blinked, taken by surprise.

 

“I bet they have like a maid to keep it this clean,” Tenko shook her head, entering deeper into the room before crouching down on an instant, glaring under the bed. It seems as if she forgot for a moment that the bed had a platform with a bunch of drawers under it, therefore it didn’t have any space underneath.

 

The boy who had gotten yanked down along with her sighed, his voice holding deep disappointment in it. “Are you dumb?” he asked, shaking his head.

 

“Smarter than you!” she furrowed her brows, standing back up.

 

“But you see, that’s not an accomplishment as I’m a fucking dumbass,” Ryoma shrugged, glancing over a few objects in the room to see if anyone was hiding there, like over the odd bureau Rantaro had in his room.

 

Tenko didn’t reply as she began tugging him by the chain towards the wall on the right side of the room. The writing desk and the door of the built in closet were there, along with a pile of books beside the desk. No one could believe someone like Rantaro would’ve actually read them.

 

“This closet seems awfully suspicious,” Ryoma noted while pressing a thoughtful thumb to his chin. His free hand went to the side of the door, ready to slide it open. “Would be a shame if there was someone _hiding_ in it.”   


“What are you waiting for? Open it!” Tenko urged him, tone impatient.

 

And so he did, sliding it open in a flash and exposing the inside of the closet to the light of the room.

 

Besides a lot, _a lot_ of shirts hanging from there, no one seemed to be inside. Right in front of the clothes, at least, as that would be very dumb. Tenko reached up to shove all the wooden hangers out of the way, revealing the depths of the closet and the people _hiding_ in the depths of it.

 

“Did you two even try?” Something of an icy glare was directed at Kaede and Shuichi, the ones standing at the corner of the small space, looking not _too_ surprised to be found.

 

Kaede stared at her for a second before getting a word out. “We did!” she insisted, crossing her arms with a huff. “We were hidden for at least ten minutes, if I may say.”

 

“Alright,” Ryoma stepped in, “just get outta there, we still have people to find.”

 

Shuichi stumbled out of the closet with Kaede, hopping over the random shoe boxes and - was that a field hockey stick? - and the other mess, which apparently was shoved from the room itself to inside of the closet. A very effective solution to avoid actually organizing one’s things.

 

“Were we the first to be found?” he asked, a hand rubbing the back of his head. Tenko and Ryoma weren’t sure, but it seemed like both of the other pair were trying to avoid meeting each other’s eyes for whatever reason.

 

“Nah, Kaito, Gonta, Rantaro and Tsumugi are downstairs searching,” the shortest in the room shook his head. “We should probably join them to see if they’ve found anyone else.”

  


They had indeed found someone else. Or, Rantaro and Tsumugi had, as they were left alone at the ground floor when Tenko and Ryoma ditched upstairs and Kaito and Gonta disappeared too, leaving the two alone when they didn’t want to be.

 

It was childish, really, not wanting to talk to each other because of one little argument, but they were playing hide and seek for god’s sake, they had no say in what was immature and what wasn’t.

 

“Let’s just check here,” Rantaro had suggested, already going inside of the bathroom, one of the rooms they hadn’t checked downstairs. No one was in the changing space, so they continued to the actual bathroom with the showers.

 

It was a smart call, since soon they came to find that the sauna inside was _on,_ and two people were sitting there, under the boards like two dumbasses. They must’ve been burning, waiting under there for god knows how long.

 

“What’s going on here?” he asked, peering under the sauna and resulting in Tsumugi having to do the same. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the way the pair looked completely out of it. “You guys look like you’re about to melt.”

 

Miu and Korekiyo were sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall, looking more than uncomfortable in the heat. “I- I didn’t know how to turn it off,” the former frowned, holding her knees to her chest.

 

“She… decided to look around the room and somehow turned the whole thing on,” Korekiyo mumbled, most likely even more distressed with his mask on. “Then she continued to deny leaving the space so we wouldn’t be found.”  


“I couldn’t just give up!”

 

“Well you were found… and it’s like 140 degrees here, get out.” Rantaro stepped out of the way so the two could crawl up from the depths of the sauna, getting to breathe in some cool air for a change. Rantaro didn’t leave it at that, though, as he pointed at the thermometer on the wall, continuing by pressing the button beside it. “Even an idiot knows how to turn off a sauna.”

 

“I don’t own one, okay!?” Miu screeched, her hands balling into fists as she stormed out of the space with Korekiyo hurrying behind her.

 

Tsumugi blinked, turning to face Rantaro. “Did you have to be so hard on h-”

 

“Give me a break, Tsumugi,” he sighed, following the trail the other pair had left with all of the doors shoved open, leaving the area. Of course, he couldn’t leave his own partner even if he wanted to.

  


Everyone gathered together at the bottom of the stairs, as if on cue. Seven pairs of - well - pairs, as Kirumi and Angie had decided to join them too. Angie could be heard muttering an apology about the broken vase when Rantaro and Tsumugi approached the group, being the last ones.

 

“Is everyone here?” Kaede asked, bobbing her head in small nods as she counted all of the heads she could see. A frown spread on her lips. “I think Himiko and Kiibo are missing.”

 

“You’re right!” Tenko confirmed, getting on her tiptoes to look around the group around her. She smiled, her eyes sparkling, “Himiko is so good at hiding, I’m so proud!” She looked like her whole existence was beaming at the thought of her girlfriend beating the game.

 

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just find them,” Kokichi sighed. He seemed distracted with inspecting his nails, but it was clear he just wanted to seem bored.

 

Ryoma furrowed his brows. “Where were you and Maki?”

 

Maki began, “In the-”

 

“In the walls!” the boy attached to her interrupted, his eyes glistening with joy just like Tenko’s had just seconds ago. She herself grimaced at the sight. “And we would’ve won but Kaito’s ass gave up and gave us the good ol’ ‘olly olly oxen’ -yell!” he shook his head in disapproval, sighing when a sharp _‘hey!’_ escaped Kaito.

 

“I’m disappointed I couldn’t hide,” Angie frowned, leaning her head on Kirumi’s shoulder with a soft whine leaving her own lips. “Oh, well, maybe next time.”

 

“Aw, is Kirumi your mom now too!?” Kokichi asked, his face looking like one of a child’s with his ecstatic grin and innocent eyes. “Yay, I’ve got a sister now!”

 

Kirumi’s eyes went wide. “Oh my-”

 

“Let’s just search for the last two, alright?” Kaito interrupted with a sigh.

 

Everyone else agreed with a nod and started looking around the house for Himiko and Kiibo.

 

No one was in the kitchen, not even under the sink where the two could’ve possibly just and just fit. The basement was checked just in case, not an indication of any human life found there either, but everyone else had to come drag Kaito away from the big pool table so they could continue their search. The room with a bunch of fitness supplies was abandoned too, the only thing it created being confusion to how the _hell_ did the house have so many rooms. There was another room resembling a living room at the back with another huge tv, big armchairs and a bar, spreading envy in anyone who happened to step inside of the room, every design and the smell of liquor and perfume combined messaging that it cost more than their whole future college tuition. Yet there was no one there either.

 

After at least twenty minutes of aggressively searching, even checking into the upstairs’ bedrooms again, earning multiple annoyed whines from Rantaro’s sisters, who no one had even seen getting into the house at any point, Himiko and Kiibo were nowhere to be seen. Everyone was back at the living room, collapsing on the ground and the couches, admitting undeniable defeat.

 

“I quit,” Miu stated, her head hanging off one of the armrests of a couch. She said the words no one else had said yet, but the message had been clear even without anyone having to speak up. “I fucking quit.”

 

Kaede sat on the ground, finding the plate of cookies on the table empty and frowning at it. She decided to take a look around all the others, everyone sighing and grunting of frustration and fatigue. “Two, four, six… _sixteen,”_ she counted, eyes going wild when she glanced at everyone. “Wait, sixteen?”

 

Almost everyone’s head bobbed up, looking at Kaede at the odd words she just let out.

 

“There are sixteen of us.”

 

Backs were straightened and gazes were surrounding everyone in the room. Kaede and Shuichi were leaning against the coffee table, their brows furrowed in confusion. Kokichi was equally confused for once, eyes blinking rapidly as if he tried to see something that wasn’t there. Poor Gonta looked utterly bewildered, eyes wide as he tried to count everyone. Himiko was almost the only one who didn’t react, leaning against Kiibo as she yawned, half asleep-

 

_Wait._

 

Kiibo and Himiko?

 

Kaito blinked. “What the hell?”

 

Kiibo looked up as he felt everyone’s gaze burning onto him. Angry and confused eyes, all aimed at him and the girl beside him. Nervously, he chuckled and turned red, nudging Himiko at the same time. “Er… congrats, you found us?” he rubbed the back of his neck, flustered.

 

“How long have you been there!?” Tsumugi asked, eyes wide.

 

With a yawn, Himiko seemed to come back to life. “Hmm?” Her eyes shot open when she noticed everyone. “Oh, hi.”

 

“Answer the question, goddamnit,” Maki _demanded,_ crossing her arms.

 

“Oh, right. You hadn’t found us yet so we came out of hiding, just to find you at the bottom of the stairs so we joined the group. We then… helped you search for us,” Kiibo explained. A hint of an excited bliss was visible through his otherwise embarrassed demeanor, the corners of his mouth tugging up.

 

_“Maaagic,”_ the girl smiled a little.

 

“So, you just helped us… search for nothing… for twenty minutes?” Korekiyo blinked, not believing it.

 

Himiko shrugged. “I mean, you didn’t find us, so it isn’t our fault.”

 

“You were hiding in bare sight for that long!? You probably even helped to drag me off the pool table!” Kaito was bewildered, though he wasn’t the only one. It seemed like everyone was going to go crazy in the matter of seconds. With slow movements, Kaito raised his phone to film everyone’s reactions.

 

“Throwing yourself on others’ pool tables isn’t polite, Kaito!” Kiibo insisted.

 

“I swear to god, I will-”  


 

_____________

  
  


And then it was almost midnight, everyone sitting in the same circle as they had twenty-four hours prior, but this time they were relieved instead of annoyed. Kirumi had even baked them more cookies during the day, everyone else helping out too as a way to escape their fury towards Himiko’s and Kiibo’s hide and seek strategies.

 

If they had to be honest, most of them would say the day hadn’t been _that_ bad. Hell, even Korekiyo and Maki would admit it in the end. Kirumi and Angie seemed surprisingly close towards the end of the day, but it made sense since they had been cleaning and cooking a lot together during the day. Job well done really connects people. Even Shuichi and Kaede lost the weird act of awkwardness between them towards the night. The only people who didn’t seem closer by the end of the day were Rantaro and Tsumugi, in fact they had it completely opposite and no one seemed to know why, and if Tenko and Ryoma knew because of the hide and seek incident, they didn’t understand.

 

“Please tell me you didn’t forget the key,” Rantaro said as he sat next to his respective partner, his hair still wet from the shower he had to take when all of them ended up in a food fight after the attempted baking of cookies. Of course it wasn’t an actual shower, but more of a hair-under-the-sink _-_ and _oh-is-that-Kokichi-dumping-the-entire-bottle-of-shampoo-on-his-head_ -kind of event. Everyone else still remained a mess, not daring to clean up in the fear of Kokichi.

 

“I didn’t,” Tsumugi commented dryly.

 

“Please tell me you did forget the key, Gonta,” Kaito continued with a relaxed grin on his face. “This day has been _awesome!_ Y’all are awesome!”

 

“...Did someone give Kaito alcohol?” Maki asked with a suspecting tone to her voice.

 

Kokichi let out a single laugh before getting serious and saying in a calm, steady voice, “Weed cookies.”

 

_“What!?”_ Kaede squealed before spitting out the cookie she had been munching on, the already chewed crumbs landing in her palm. Shuichi mumbled something along _‘are you okay?’_ with his eyes widened.

 

Kirumi narrowed her eyes. “Kokichi, I swear to lord-”

 

“Kidding, kidding!” he grinned, a satisfied look in his face and the way he smiled.

 

Angie was laying down with her head in Kirumi’s lap, as apparently she had grown tired and had decided to nap until midnight, though actually she had stayed awake the whole time she was meant to sleep. She looked up at Kirumi with a smile on her face. “Disown him.”

 

“Oh, I’m about to,” the other girl commented, eyes flickering from Angie to Kokichi.

 

“I think we all could disown him,” Maki said, a hint of smile on her lips.

 

“I - feel so attacked right now,” Kokichi stated with a poker face, not feeling attacked at all. Yet, he threw his head to the side, letting it relax on Shuichi’s shoulder as he conveniently sat next to the boy. Kokichi sighed, “Save me from this madness, Saihara.”

 

“Madness follows you, Kokichi. You cannot fight it,” Korekiyo commented briefly, him also reaching towards one of the cookies, settled on a plate in the middle of their little circle. “Call it the will of God if you must.”

 

Tenko sniffed in the background, gathering everyone’s attention. “I’m just- I’m so proud of my girlfriend!”

 

“The hide and seek ended hours ago-”

 

“I know, but… did you see how she climbed on Gonta’s shoulders and sprayed his hair full of whipped cream during the food fight? _Iconic,”_ she shook her head in disbelief as Gonta reached up to touch his hair.

 

“How the hell did you get up to his shoulders?” Ryoma blinked, confusion present on his face.

 

The said girl shrugged. “Magic, I dunno.”

 

“Ah, shit, here we go again,” Kaito commented as it was his turn to shake his head.

 

Everyone was interrupted by Kaede speaking up, checking the clock on her phone, “Guys, it’s midnight in twenty seconds!”

 

Kaito was quick to dig out his phone and start filming yet again as everyone else buckled up, ready to be free of both their partner and all the awkward movements and bathroom breaks. A lot of them also liked the thought of taking a shower and sleeping after the long day.

 

“This is like that New Year shit all over again,” Kokichi sighed.

 

“Everyone who’s going to get yelled at by their parents or _guardians_ because they stayed out late on a school night, _rise up!”_ Kaede yelled, her own free hand springing up in the air. Korekiyo’s, Maki’s, Miu’s, Shuichi’s…. _okay,_ everyone besides Rantaro, Angie and Gonta raised their arms with fury.

 

“Kirumi, you have parents?” Kokichi asked with an innocent smile.

 

“Thank you for that,” the said girl sighed, letting her hand drop next to Angie’s head. “Yes, I do.”

 

“Okay, okay, it’s midnight!” Kaito interrupted with a yell, making sure to make any poor soul who happened to watch the video _deaf._ “We’re free, guys! Cuffs open!”

 

Click, click, click.

 

Eight pairs of handcuffs snapped open as the keys were twisted in them, almost in a row of beautiful sounds of pure freedom. The sound of cheap metal hitting the carpet beneath them was muffled, but all the eight thumps were present.

 

“I’m- I’m free,” Ryoma blinked, seemingly not aware what to do anymore. Then, his voice turned more excited than the others had ever heard it, “I’m free!”

 

“I think we’re _all_ free,” Miu quoted, raising her now free arm up in the air with a scream of victory. “Miu Iruma is back, bitches!”

 

The cookies were finished fast while all the handcuffs were stuffed into Kaede’s back, her having promised to deliver them back to school tomorrow. Seriously, they had to be handcuffed to each other for a whole day, and they couldn’t even keep the handcuffs!

 

“Who’s ready to write a thousand word essay!?” Rantaro asked with a grin, not at all surprised when not a single hand was raised, not even the class president’s.

 

“Your dumbass just had to do that, didn’t you?” Maki sighed in disappointment as she prepared to stand up, a little surprised that Kokichi didn’t get yanked up with her anymore.

 

“Hey, the contents of my house have been feeding you for a day, I have the right,” he insisted, crossing his newly freed arms. “And now… get outta here, sissies, I can’t be having Shuichi and Kaede sneaking into my dad’s room for the night again.”

 

_“One_ mistake.” Shuichi sounded dead serious. “One mistake, and you’re marked for life.”

 

Kokichi said, “It do be like that sometimes.” He continued to grab Shuichi’s arm in a protective way. “But don’t you dare think I’m not going to _punish_ you for making me jealous like that, _booooyyfriend.”_

 

“A-ah-”

 

If one happened to focus on their surroundings instead of the lovey dovey scene happening right in front of them, they could see the exact moment Kaede’s face dropped into a deep frown for a split second, at the mention of the word _‘boyfriend’._ Korekiyo catched it, he always did, and one could say he was frowning as well.

 

“Anyways!” Tenko declared loudly, standing up now freely. “I’m going to get going. Rantaro, your place is nice, and let’s _never_ do this again. No offense, Ryoma.”

 

“None taken,” he shook his head before raising his hand to his forehead in a salute. Surprisingly enough, Tenko replied to it with one of her own.

 

Kaito raised an eyebrow as he got up, shoving his phone in his pocket, done with the video he had been filming all day. “Do they already have inside jokes, or what?” He reached a hand towards Maki, just to notice that she was already up. “I’ll walk you home, Maki,” he said with a gentle smile, and a hint of crimson could be seen on her cheeks.

 

“Bye guys,” she dismissed it, grabbing her bag and walking out of the living room with Kaito right in her tracks, grinning to the others before he left.

 

“Embarrassed now, are you, _Buttercup?”_

 

A door slam.

 

Light chuckling spread throughout the group as everyone else started preparing to leave as well, Rantaro getting up too so he wouldn’t be the only one on the ground. He swallowed hard, it actually hurting before he gathered the courage to speak up. “Hey, Kiyo?”  


Because no one else was really talking at the moment, multiple eyes were aimed towards Rantaro instead of just Korekiyo’s, like he had wished. For example, Miu’s eyes stared at him more intently than he was comfortable with.

 

_“Um,”_ why was he so nervous? Everyone could probably notice it, couldn’t they? “I thought if you’d wanna sleep over for another night, you know, for fun?” he asked, a hand running through his hair.

 

“Sure,” Korekiyo complied, his hands growing more relaxed around the strap of his bag. “Assuming I’ll get to sleep in a bed this time?”

 

“Yeah, obviously!” Rantaro assured him with an easygoing smile.

 

Miu interrupted them with a cough. “I’ll - be going now. Bye Ran-Ran and you other weebs,” she shrugged before turning around walking to the hall, out of the room. “I’ll remember this day in therapy!”

 

Kokichi blinked. “Who wouldn’t?” He grabbed his backpack as well, slinging it over his shoulders. “I’m getting a ride home and a nice yell in a two-in-one deal, bye, Shuichi.”

 

The entire room went still when the short boy placed a soft kiss on Shuichi’s cheek, undeniably the most affectionate gesture he had ever done in front of the others. The receiving end of the kiss turned bright red, mumbling an embarrassed ‘goodnight’ to his apparent boyfriend.

 

“You two are sooo cute!” Angie whined after Kokichi had exited the room, clasping her hands together in awe. “Totally my otp after Victor and Yuuri! Oh, or L and Light!” she squirmed in a happy bliss.

 

Tsumugi raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Angie, do you watch anime?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I do,” Angie smiled, her eyes closed.

 

“Let’s walk the same way home, I want to talk!” Tsumugi smiled for what seemed like one of the only times that day. “I’m really excited!”

 

Of course, like she always did, Angie agreed. “Alright! But Kirumi is coming too!”

 

“Huh?” Kirumi herself let out a surprised noise.

 

“I mean, I don’t want anxiety for having to separate so soon! You’re so cool,” she explained, grabbing both of the two girls by hand and leading them out of the room. “Goodnight, you others!” she yelled after them as Tenko and Himiko followed them as well, them too mumbling their goodbyes.

 

“Alright, I’m heading out too,” Ryoma shrugged, followed by Gonta and Kiibo waving their hands as a bye, and soon there were only four left in the room.

 

“I… should get going too,” Kaede smiled a little, her head bowed down.

 

“Take care,” Korekiyo said, as a way to show sympathy towards the obvious broken heart she was carrying with her. And the eight pairs of handcuffs in her bag, most likely alarming everyone if she happened to trip and spread the contents of the bag on the street.

 

Shuichi suddenly spoke up, looking at Kaede. “It’s dark, so I could walk you home? I mean, until I have to turn to my street,” he suggested with a soft smile.

 

“I-it’s okay, really.”

 

“Oh… okay,” the boy’s smile dropped, but not more than it usually did. “Well, I hope your wrist feels better.”

 

“Huh?” she blinked. “Right! Yeah, me too!” Kaede ran a shaking hand through her hair before avoiding Shuichi’s gaze, looking at the two other boys instead. “Goodnight, boys.”

 

And with that she was gone, Shuichi leaving after her. The final shutting of the door was heard, and a silence fell upon the two remaining boys, everyone else in the house being asleep. A part of them wondered if there were people outside, staring at everyone walking home when they had parts of food stuck to them. Probably not, as it was already midnight and a school day.

 

“Everyone in our class is so lovestruck,” Korekiyo shook his head with a soft sigh as Rantaro turned to look at him with curiosity. “I feel bad for the poor souls who find theirs unrequited.”

 

“Ahah, right,” the other chuckled with his voice shaky, wishing for dear god that Korekiyo wouldn’t recognize the nervousness in his statement. “Why fall in love when you can fall asleep… right?”

 

“I… suppose you can agree to that.”

 

“Right? I mean- I really, _really_ do.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I tag this as angst? Screw it, I'm tagging it as angst-


	7. It Do Be Like That Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where things aren't so great for Kokichi. Maki tries to help, surprisingly enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to explore some of my not-so-positive headcanons so uh I might slip something like this in the series every once in a while, so I hope you guys won't mind, but if you do, feel free to skip them because they're not otherwise relevant to the story besides me wanting to write them! 
> 
> Trigger warning;  
> Kokichi's self-destructive but there's absolutely nothing graphic, just sadness

 

He’s sitting on the edge when she finds him.

 

The sun is rising already, the sky forming blue, pink, orange and white layers on top of each other at the edge of the horizon, coloring the whole skyline with warm colors. She isn’t sure what time it is, but the sun rises at around five a.m, so it’s somewhere in the middle of the night. It’s the weekend so it doesn’t matter too much anyways.

 

Maki wraps the blanket tighter around herself, internally cursing about worrying over him, going to search for him and risking her sleep, just to find him sitting on the rooftop.

 

The soft wind is blowing the dark purple strands of his hair to the side, and the rising sun is showering him in yellow light as his hands grasp the edge of the roof. It’s the night and it’s cold, yet he’s only wearing a T-shirt. As though he doesn’t care if he freezes.

 

And Maki realises, he’s sitting at the  _ edge _ of the roof. 

 

No matter how much she would rather be asleep right now, her legs move her forward in a rush, without her consent, towards the boy who has yet to notice her. Her heart beats faster than she would’ve expected.

 

She isn’t wearing shoes, but apparently something about her is making noise, as Kokichi seems to twitch and then he’s turning his head towards her without a warning. 

 

The grim of annoyance on her face washes off in an instant as Maki notices the way his eyes are glistening. He’s…  _ crying? _ There’s nothing on the pale cheeks of his, but his nose and cheeks are decorated with crimson, matching the visible vessels in his puffy eyes.

 

“Are you okay?” it escapes her lips before she can decide what to do. A strange feeling of worry is looming over her heart, and she’s shivering, even through the thick blanket she took from the bed. She parts her lips, thinking of what to say. “Should I get Shuichi?”

 

It’s not a surprise when he cocks an eyebrow at her, letting out a high pitched laugh. It’s let out with uncertainty, though, as his lower lip seems to tremble. It could be because of the cold air, but who knows? “Shuichi? Why would you get him?” Kokichi asks, and even if it’s quick, Maki can see the flash of him running his finger under his eyes, wiping away whatever was forming there.

 

The thought of having to touch the cold concrete underneath her is unpleasant, yet she is settling down next to the short boy and letting her legs hang from the edge, the blanket dropping on the ground around her.

 

“I don’t know…” Maki admits, and she isn’t lying. “I guess finding you out here is kind of worrying,” she says with a shrug, acting like realising what he might do at the edge didn’t make her heart jump into her throat for a second.

 

Kokichi darts the eye contact Maki’s trying to create, focusing on his legs instead as he sways them up and down in the air, letting his bare calves hit the wall of the building with a thump each time they come down.  _ “Whaat?” _ he starts, but his voice cracks. Yet he tries to keep his act up, “But I’m having the time of my life!”

 

Maki doesn’t believe him, of course she doesn’t. She’s not  _ dumb. _ But still, she doesn’t have any idea what could be wrong with the boy. A few hours ago before everyone went to sleep, he had seemed just fine, having fun teasing and annoying everyone like he always did. But now… there’s this weird kind of vulnerability to his aura, and it sends shivers down her spine.

 

Why had he invited all of them over again?

 

“Does this have something to do with your parents?” Maki asks, remembering how the boy had _ bragged _ about his parents being out of town, and then continued to invite almost all of them over for a  _ secret _ movie night. 

 

Kokichi’s parents  _ never _ let his friends come over when they’re home, or even when they’re out of town, for that matter. It’s not as though Kokichi likes inviting them over too much either.

 

He shivers, and she knows that she’s right.

 

“Did something happen?”

 

Kokichi takes a deep breath, and it sounds like he’s mumbling ‘fuck it’ under his breath, but Maki isn’t sure if she heard him right.

 

“Well, you know how I… I’m in a foster home?” he asks hesitantly, and his voice sounds tortured, dry, scratchy. 

 

“Yeah…?”

 

“Well, surprise, surprise, my  _ ‘parents’ _ fucking hate my whole existence. You’ve seen our place, you know what shitheads they are.”

 

She thinks that she should reply, but she has no idea how, so she just nods.

 

Kokichi takes another breath, seeming to consider if he should just shut up or spill it all. He decides to continue, “I’m basically here for them to get money off of me. Not that I minded having an actual home, even if it was like this, because it wasn’t permanent, but… then they decided to adopt me.”

 

It’s odd how quickly Kokichi became honest in front of her, his eyes tearing up and avoiding eye contact. Maki thinks it’s weird, seeing him like this, completely vulnerable without any lying demeanor to cover it up. She wants to just get up, tell him to sort out his own problems and go back to sleep herself, but at the same time she doesn’t. Maybe it’s because she can relate to what he’s going through, in a way, or maybe she just wants him to stop crying.

 

“I… didn’t know they adopted you,” she says, noticing her own throat is drier than what she’d prefer as well. “...Go on.”

 

Kokichi swings one of his legs up so high that it lands against the building with a thud, his calf and heel slamming against it with a force that must hurt like hell, yet he doesn’t even flinch.

 

“They’re getting divorced,” he grits through his teeth, his knuckles pale against the gray edge of the building. “And- and neither of them fucking wants me.”

 

Maki thinks back at how she used to live at the orphanage before finally getting adopted as well. She remembers seeing couples desiring to become parents come in, or children a lot younger than her disappear without her paying it a second thought at the time. She knew she was growing old, that most likely no one would want her, not ever. She’d grow old there, be thrown out when she was 18 and be done with her life from the very start. It had hurt so bad, she had cried herself to sleep nearly every night when everyone else thought she was being strong.

 

It hurt, but she cannot begin to imagine the pain Kokichi’s in right now. His parents aren’t dead, yes, but he doesn’t know where they are. He had told the class that his parents are  _ robbing places in LA, _ but that most likely wasn’t the truth. But, to imagine that he had gotten the chance to live in an actual home, just to get treated like that… the thought stings in Maki’s heart.

 

“What the hell am I supposed to do now? It’s not like I can just disappear! Like - I’m sorry I didn’t bring enough _ money _ to the table to fucking keep your asses together!” it escapes as a scream from his throat, voice deeper than it often was, the faint mark of an Adam’s apple bobbing wildly at the front of his neck.

 

Maki’s eyes widen as she notices Kokichi dragging himself closer to the edge, his knees going from the bend of the concrete to hanging in the bare air. They are in the thirteenth? Fourteenth- no, they are on the roof, and the building is fifteen floors up from the ground. Maki’s breath gets caught in her throat.

 

“I wonder-” he breathes out with a swallow. “I wonder if they’d prefer if I just fucking killed myself and was done with it.”

 

“Don’t say stuff like that,” she says, her voice quivering with the growing panic.

 

Kokichi turns his head, and Maki thinks he’s caught off guard by the way she didn’t actually encourage him to hop off the edge. Normally, she’d get angry if someone thought of her that way and… she’d probably be  _ that _ way, but this situation is nowhere near normal. Her hand raises, reaching to grab what is Kokichi’s upper arm.

 

He tugs his arm away in an instant. “Don’t start acting like you care all of a sudden, I know you don’t,” the words hit her hard, like someone actually just punched her in the stomach. 

 

She does care, even if she’d never admits it. It’s not as though she calls Kokichi names and treats him rudely because she doesn’t like him - it’s because she _ does, _ and she doesn’t know how a normal person would show affection to someone. Kokichi is her friend, at least she likes to think so.

 

Yet, what escapes her mouth is; “I have training. If you jump off, I feel obligated to grab you and beat you up.” The person next to Kokichi, the walking disaster that is Maki Harukawa, is a fucking disaster. She won’t deny it, she couldn’t.

 

“...No wonder you and Kaito aren’t official. He must be terrified,” and that’s okay, it’s okay. Kokichi’s hurt, he can act a little bratty, he has all the rights. Yet Maki has to clench her fists in a way her fingernails dig into her palms so she won’t snap at him.

 

“Well,” she starts, trying to keep her voice steady, “Right now… I too, am terrified, because if you jump off, I’ll be an obvious suspect.”

 

Kokichi frowns, and Maki can’t tell with certainty if it’s honest or not. “Right… I’d hate to leave witnesses…”   
  


He’s still terrifyingly close to the edge, just one more nudge ending in his doom if it were to happen. Maki’s determined to get him to back up.

 

“You know, you’re barely at home in the first place. We all are always together, we’ve… we’ve got your back,” she tries.

 

“That won’t help too much when my life is falling apart,” Kokichi states, leaning forward so he can see the ground underneath with his eyes, that too affected by the warm sunlight. “Do I just fucking go back to foster care, or what? Spend the next year going through the shitshows called homes, and then just get dropped when I turn 18? Get left on the street again?”

 

“No. But you won’t kill yourself either,” Maki states.

 

She grabs the blanket from the ground around her, gathering it up in her fists. It’s easy to throw the other end over Kokichi’s lap, the boy raising a confused eyebrow at her. Maki ignores it, leaning behind his body to grab the said end of the blanket, having now wrapped it fully around Kokichi.

 

“What the hell are you-” he’s interrupted by Maki scooting backwards on the concrete, the material scratching her bare legs but she ignores it, pulling Kokichi along the blanket in the process.

 

He’s light and would lose to her in a fight, it’s easy to bring him along. His legs too come in contact with the concrete, the friction most likely hurting him too, but she doesn’t stop until they’re at least the whole height of Kokichi’s body - times two, then times three - away from the edge.

 

“God, the things you make me do,” Maki sighs, letting her fists unclench from grabbing the blanket. 

 

“I didn’t force you to assault my legs,” Kokichi spits the sentence out, hatred in his words as he throws the blanket over his head.

 

She fights the urge to roll her eyes as she crosses her legs, them already shivering after losing the warmth of the blanket. “Did you just expect me to let you talk like that?” Maki snaps with a huff as she furrows her brows at the other. 

 

_ “Why not?” _

 

It was a valid point. Clearly not hoping to see him die wasn’t a good enough reason for the boy, so Maki would have to think of something she can say out loud without actually sounding as though she cares about Kokichi. 

 

Although maybe, in the end, all she has left is to be honest.

 

“I don’t want you to die. And it’s making me sad that you’re even thinking about it,” Maki says slowly, careful not to show too much emotion or let her words twist into something ruthless. She sighs, “And I know what you’re going through. Kind of. And I know that will get better, okay? I can help you out, if I have- if  _ you _ want to.”

 

Kokichi blinks, processing her words, and she doesn’t let her expression waver from her frown in any way. When she sees a tear roll down his cheek, she’s not sure if she made the situation better or worse. All she’s sure about is that he isn’t faking it, he wouldn’t start something like that again.

 

“Fuck, why did you-” he mumbles before biting down on his lower lip, silencing himself. He runs a hand over his cheek to wipe away the tear rolling down. “Why’d you have to say  _ that.” _

 

“Excuse me?”

 

But Kokichi doesn’t respond as his eyes keep creating more tears, him losing control over his crying as he lets out a shaky exhale. His eyes dart down, and it’s obvious he gave up on trying to be strong. More sobs keep escaping him as she just looks over at him.

 

_ Goddammit, _ Maki thinks,  _ she wasn’t trained for this.  _

 

Hesitantly, she slides over to the small boy, the concrete still scratching against the back of her thighs, but they’re already red from before in any case.  _ Is this what normal people do, _ is her only thought before Kokichi has the chance to glance up at the suddenly close girl, and before she leans down to hug him, arms wrapping around his shoulders in what one could only describe as the most awkward embrace ever.

 

She doesn’t like hugs, at all, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices, Maki supposes.

 

Kokichi seems a little startled by the way his breathing hitches for a second, but he still continues to move his arms in order to intertwine his fingers behind Maki’s back, his way of responding to the hug even though his arms barely touch her. Still, he lets his head drop on her shoulders as his sobs began to slowly calm down.

 

How long were they going to stay this way? There were some people a few floors down who always woke up early, and they’d certainly notice both their disappearance, and Maki would really prefer not getting caught hugging the crying boy against her. She could only think that he wouldn’t either.

 

Well, luck was never on her side anyway.

 

There’s a slam at the door to the roof, and Maki’s head snaps to the direction. Obviously, the people standing there are all of the ones Kokichi had invited to sleepover. Shuichi, Kaede, Kaito, Kiyo, Gonta, Miu, Ryoma, and Rantaro, everyone looking half-asleep and shocked. Of course Kokichi had to invite so many people. 

 

She tugs away from the boy, arms falling back to her side as she scoots back on the ground.

 

No one says anything as both Kokichi and Maki stare at the group staring at them, and she thinks it’s a lot better this way. She can just get up and go to sleep instead of answering all the questions now.

 

To her utter disappointment, Kokichi points a blaming finger at her. “She started it!” he insists, tears far gone, and she rolls her eyes so far back it hurts.

 

“Whatever, I’m going to sleep,” Maki decides, not feeling up to dealing with this anymore as she stands up and gathers the blanket in her arms.

 

“I- uh, I don’t know how to comment on this,” Kaito says from the door, scratching the back of his head.

 

“Then don’t,” she sighs, walking closer to the group in order to get inside the building as Kokichi gets up too, planning to follow her lead. “I certainly don’t want you to,” she grumbles.

 

Kaito grabs her arm, stopping her from pushing past them. “Moving on from… whatever this was… you guys have the key to the apartment, right?”   
  


“Why would I have the key to it?”

 

Kokichi blinks, stopping in his tracks. “Did you dumbasses lock yourselves out?”

 

“We thought you had the key, dickwad!” Miu scoffs as she crosses her arms over her chest. “It’s not our fault you sneaked off with Maki and abandoned us!”

 

“We did  _ not  _ sneak off together,” Maki argues with a glare directed right towards Miu’s soul, the other girl squealing at her cold gaze. 

 

Shuichi chuckles nervously, “Why were you hugging, then?”

 

“Obviously,” Kokichi starts with a shrug, “she was just wishing me a happy birthday,  _ duh.  _ Unlike you others who don’t care enough to remember it.” 

 

Maki shook her head with a sigh, it was like the boy in front of her was completely fine now, not a single sign of having cried anywhere on him. Acting like that was not healthy, but she couldn’t blame him for not wanting any unwanted attention.

 

The others seemed to accept Kokichi’s answer as the truth as all of them begin walking inside the building together, leaving the now almost fully-risen sun alone outside. He and Maki walk at the back of the group, and it’s probably for the best as the back of their legs must be bright red from dragging them along the cement on the roof.

  
They  _ almost  _ make it to the front door of Kokichi’s apartment, when Shuichi stops in his tracks. “Wait,” he says, turning his head towards Kokichi, “your birthday is in June.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took so long to write this, I cry


	8. Also i lost my family in a supermarket and now i’m in the milk aisle looking awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Himiko picks dare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't updated this bad boy in a while lol
> 
> Chapter name from my great friend yookashi :')

 

 

“Dare,” she said. “It’ll be easy,” she said.

 

But she was wrong, so very wrong.

 

If Himiko hadn’t realised what kind of a situation she had gotten herself in when she first had gotten the dare, she sure as hell realised it now as she entered the convenience store. She could still feel her friends’ gaze burning on her back from the car all of them were waiting in.

 

“Hey, good evening,” the cashier welcoming her startled Himiko, making her take a step back and bump into a shelf full of candy right behind her. Thankfully, nothing fell down.

 

“Hi…” she mumbled, not meeting the cashier’s eyes and hurrying between other shelves to disguise herself from the public.

 

Himiko ended up in an aisle with different chips and cookies, which would’ve been good and small enough for her, but because of her damn friends, that wouldn’t do, she’d have to make her way to the drink aisle, the one with alcohol.

 

Her classmates weren’t assholes enough to make her go to the local convenience store where people knew her (all the six of them had driven to a whole other part of town where they never hung out, while the rest of the class stayed back at Angie’s place), thank god, so what she was about to do was a bit less risky.

 

What was not _not_ risky, though, was her damn red hair and recognizable voice. Himiko wasn’t sure how these things worked, but if she was called up in a line at a police station or something, she’d be easily recognized. Could you go to jail for stealing beer? What if she told them it was a dare, would it help at all?

 

Himiko’s dare didn’t only include stealing, though, like that wasn’t already bad enough. When she ran, she was supposed to jump in the car through the window instead of using the door, like an idiot. Who the hell jumps in a car through the window? Not to mention there were already three people sitting at the backseat, she’d land right on them.

 

Another customer came in as Himiko tried - with her invincible stealth - to move to the drink aisle without being noticed. Great, maybe the cashier would get distracted with them and ignore her as she casually stole a six pack. 

 

Seeing all the beer options in the fridge made her frown, she was never the one to provide the alcohol for their class. Usually it was either Korekiyo’s sister or Angie’s parents, or even Kaito and Rantaro with their fancy fake IDs. Not to mention all of them didn’t stick to one specific brand, but they changed a lot.

 

Maybe she’d survive with the one that she liked the most. Korekiyo’s sister had gotten it for them once, and it was basically the only one which didn’t make Himiko almost throw up after drinking it. It’d have to be good enough for the people in the car, even if Kokichi would try to bully her for her choice no matter what she picked.

 

Himiko looked around. Neither customers nor surveillance cameras were in sight, so she opened her jacket and slipped the whole six pack to one side, creating a huge and obvious bulge. Okay, she’d maybe have to try another tactic. _Goddd,_ why didn’t she bring her mage hat when it was needed?

 

Her next idea wasn’t good by any means, but she still continued to stuff another six pack of a different brand underneath the other side of her jacket, although both of them were freezing her through her shirt. Well, now the bulges were matching, now it looked symmetric, which might’ve looked less suspicious to anyone who was almost blind. Maybe the cashier was half blind, it wasn’t completely out of the question. Maybe they would think she had very big, deformed boobs? It was worth the shot.

 

Himiko began walking closer to the exit, but wouldn’t yet leave the comfort of the aisle covering the cashier’s view of her. She could see her escape vehicle through the front window of the store, and she could see the backseat’s window open. It was Rantaro’s car, so it was expensive and fancy by default, and she was probably going to damage it jumping in. Well, it would be his problem.

 

She was starting to get cold feet. What if she was caught? What if her mom found out? Himiko would literally die, not just because of the stealing, but the alcohol and hanging out with boys too. She would be grounded until she died.

 

But, a dare is a dare, and Himiko was brave. At least, that’s what she told herself.

 

She took a deep breath. And she ran.

 

“Miss?” the cashier’s yell came from behind her as she shoved the front door open with her and the alcohol’s entire weight. “Miss, you have to pay for those!”

 

Himiko didn’t stop, running towards the car where she could already hear her friends start cheering for her, clapping their hands and yelling as the store door behind her opened again, at least according to the bells on top of it going wild.

 

Oh god, she was at least a foot too short to be able to jump in the car through the window without damaging the door, but she had to try. Jumping the way she had never done in PE class, she tried to hop inside of the car through the window while still clutching the six packs under her jacket, and, well, she did get in.

 

Himiko planted headfirst in the lap of one of her friends (by the smell of it, it wasn’t Tenko, but a boy) with her both feet getting stuck at the window as the people in the backseat went crazy with yelling. Her head hurt, obviously, as who she could only assume to be Rantaro sped off the scene, quickly going overspeed to get away as he laughed.

 

She could recognize Tenko’s hands pulling her fully inside of the car, and that gave Himiko the chance to actually sit up and look around. The only boy at the back seat was Kokichi, a grinning Kokichi at that, which meant that she had probably flown straight into his lap. Gross. Although, Miu was also at the back seat and it was possible that she smelled like boys, at least according to her reputation.

 

“Himiko, I can’t believe you actually did it!” Tenko squirmed in her place, pulling Himiko to sit on her lap, and the latter quickly realised to take the six packs from underneath her jacket, her arms were already starting to hurt from squeezing them so much. “I’m dating a badass!”

 

“I must admit, I didn’t expect you to actually go through with it,” Korekiyo smiled from the front seat, reaching back to get one of the six packs in his own lap, probably because the back seat was already crowded.

 

“Go through with it and straight into my arms, huh?” Kokichi snickered as he rolled the window back up, stopping the wind from the fast speed from blowing straight into his face. “Y’know, I’m honored and all… nevermind, I’m not, but I got a boyfriend… ya know?”

 

“Stay away from my Himiko!” Tenko exclaimed, right as Rantaro made a sharp turn and sent everyone on the backseat flying to the right, squeezing Kokichi against the door.

 

The boy driving chuckled, finally slowing the speed down a bit so all of them wouldn’t neither die nor get pulled over. “I can’t wait for my dad to kill me,” Rantaro laughed, most likely referring to the way Himiko’s feet had clung onto the door of the car and probably left marks. 

 

“You gave me the dare,” Himiko scoffed, crossing her arms.

 

“You went through with it, little psycho,” Miu cackled, all while nudging Kokichi away with her elbow. “And you even took a good brand, who would’ve fucking thought?”

 

“So…” Kokichi smirked, bringing a finger to his lips, “How about opening one of those cans you just stole?”

 

“Kokichi, no-”

 

 


	9. Never Have I Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a basic night playing a game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of underage sex but it's a part of the game with no details

 

 

It was just like any other night with the whole class gathered up in Korekiyo’s living room. Well, it  _ wasn’t  _ like any other night, since the gang barely hung out at Korekiyo’s. According to him, his parents were really strict and didn’t like guests, and wouldn’t hesitate to yell at people, which scared most of the class.

 

How did all the sixteen of them end up sitting in a circle in the weirdly decorated living room then, drinking alcohol and cracking jokes, one might ask?

 

The earlier events of the night went somewhere along this routine; Korekiyo invited Rantaro over, as usual. The latter was the only one who had ever visited Korekiyo before tonight, so it wasn’t anything too odd. But, when Rantaro showed up, he had Kaede with him, as she had been moping about something (read: Shuichi Saihara’s and Kokichi Ouma’s relationship), and Rantaro had felt bad. Then, Kaede wanted to invite Maki and Tenko to have more people to vent to. That was fine, Korekiyo could handle four guests, maybe his absent parents could too. But, of course, bringing Tenko means bringing Himiko, which means bringing Angie which means bringing Tsumugi, meanwhile Maki does the mistake of telling Kaito about her plans, giving him the chance to invite himself along, along with Shuichi and Gonta who then continue to invite Kokichi, Kiibo, and - a very reluctant - Ryoma. Kaede continues to feel bad about everyone left out, and begs for Korekiyo and Rantaro to invite Miu and Kirumi too, which they finally agree to. And so, all in the span of twenty minutes, the entire class ends up getting drunk in the Shingujis’ living room.

 

Korekiyo was just glad his family was gone. Even if Mukuro could’ve helped control the situation more, his parents wouldn’t have been happy by any means. They were supposed to be gone the entire night, the only reason he invited Rantaro over in the first place.

 

“We gotta play something!” Miu called out from her spot between Kaede and Korekiyo, ignoring the fact that she had been the last one to arrive, yet the first one to start drinking. “Like, I dunno, truth or dare?”

 

Himiko groaned from her side of the circle, rather dramatically slinging her head on Tenko’s shoulder. “The last time we did that, I could’ve been arrested,” she whined, narrowing her eyes at Miu. “Not again.”   
  


Korekiyo sighed. He knew that whatever they settled on doing, either them or his house would get wrecked, and he’d get into trouble. It didn’t help that he’d done the mistake of drinking as well, the bottle in his hand just yelling out bad decisions. Rantaro’s arm was casually around his shoulders, keeping him close like any normal friend would do when relaxing, but the others had no idea what a comfort it brought to Korekiyo. He had an idea Rantaro was aware of how nervous he was as well, which was why he was doing it.

 

“How about we do something that doesn’t require moving?” Kaede suggested, and although her usual cheerful smile was painted on her face, four of the people in the circle were very aware of how unhappy she actually felt. “Y’know, since Kiyo’s house is really pretty and I wouldn’t want it to get ruined!” she chuckled softly, avoiding to meet anyone’s eyes.

 

“This place looks like a museum,” Kokichi pointed out, his arms around Shuichi’s neck as he swung his head around as if to imitate looking around. “I hate museums.”

 

“That’s fine. Not everyone has good taste,” Korekiyo replied dryly.

 

Kokichi was about to respond, probably something about how  _ Korekiyo’s mom didn’t have good taste when creating him, _ but Kirumi cut in before he could. Bless her soul.

 

“How about we play Never have I ever?”

 

Miu shrugged from her place. “Sure, that works for me. Though I bet none of y’all pussies have done anything fun!”

 

Korekiyo had no idea why any of them still hung out with Miu.

 

“Since it was my suggestion… I suppose I shall go first,” Kirumi sighed, folding her hands in her lap. She took a beer bottle from the middle of their circle - the pile of alcohol all of them had gathered around as if they were worshipping a god - and everyone else followed her lead, if they didn’t already have a bottle in hand. “Never have I ever… cheated on an exam.”

 

A safe question. That was good.

 

The obvious ones, like Miu, Kokichi and Kaito, took a drink, grinning as if it was an accomplishment. Angie, Ryoma, Himiko, Tsumugi and Rantaro also took a sip. After a few seconds, Shuichi followed their lead.

 

“Wow, I’m dating a rebel!” Kokichi laughed out loud, arms tightening around Shuichi’s neck as he nuzzled his shoulder. “You gotta teach me your ways, Shumai!”

 

Korekiyo took his eyes away from the way Kaede frowned, Maki discreetly patting her shoulder, and instead turned to Rantaro, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Hey, it was just one ti-” He arched the eyebrow. “Fine, a few times,” Rantaro chuckled, running his free hand through his hair. “Looks like you and Kokichi are in a similar situation,” and if anyone had been listening to them, they might have been screwed, but no one had.

 

“Alright, you little prudes,” Miu spoke up with the same grin as before. “Never have I ever had sex.”

 

Not a safe question. Not good. A silence spread around the circle.

 

“Aw, Miu, you know that if you say it, you haven’t actually done it,” Kokichi chuckled again, breaking the silence as the corner of his lips quirked up into a smirk. Still, neither him nor Shuichi took a drink.

 

“Fuck you, dwarf!”

 

“I am _ right _ here,” Ryoma mumbled with a roll of his eyes, earning a few laughs, before he took a sip of his beer. Somewhere in the background, you could hear Tenko audibly gasp.

 

With the courage earned from Ryoma’s sacrifice, Maki and Kaito both took a sip, the former more discreetly than her partner. Angie took one too, giggling right after it. Meanwhile Miu groaned quietly, Rantaro took a gulp of his drink, followed by Korekiyo himself, even if he would’ve rather not exposed it to all of them.

 

Korekiyo met Miu’s eyes, which had been staring at him, before she coughed and loudly pointed out, “Huh. So over half of you are virgins. Lame.”   
  


“Uhm, takes one to know one, Miu,” Kiibo mumbled, fumbling with the beer bottle in his hands.

 

Tenko groaned, slamming her hand less than elegantly against the patterned carpet, “Some of us want to wait until marriage!” The declaration echoed through the entire room, and Kokichi snickered.

  
“Yeah. Totally. Same.” 

 

“A-anyways,” Shuichi coughed, his face painted with crimson, “Never have I ever… cried in the school bathroom?”

 

No one questioned his statement, and even if you were supposed to say something you hadn’t done yourself, Shuichi still took a sip. Kaede, out of all people, followed his lead, Tsumugi, Tenko, Himiko and Kiibo going along with her lead.

 

_ “What?” _ Tenko raised her voice at Himiko, “Tell me who hurt you, I won’t let them get away with that!”

 

“I- it’s fine, my mom had just been a jerk,” Himiko assured her, awkwardly laughing after her sentence.

 

“Never have I ever had a crush on one of my friends,” Kaito cut in with a chuckle. “I want to expose y’all who are afraid of having feelings, y’know?” His arm wrapped around Maki, pulling her close and making her let go of Kaede.

 

The silence became even worse than with the sex question, as though everyone was afraid to even breathe. Even Korekiyo’s nerves froze for a moment.

 

Kokichi and Shuichi caved in first, which was easy for them as they had already gotten together, and both took big gulps. Tenko and Himiko followed, no surprise there, along with Kaede. A few stares were aimed at her, before Miu took a sip as well. Kirumi, Gonta, Tsumugi, Angie and Kiibo followed, embarrassed blushes on their faces. That was almost their entire class.

 

Rantaro glanced at Korekiyo, before taking a sip. Again, not really leaving him a choice, Korekiyo took one too, and Rantaro’s hand on his shoulder squeezed it softly.

 

“Oh, wow. I need some details later, alright?” Kaito laughed, especially shooting a glance at Gonta and Rantaro. 

 

“Oh, oh! I’ve got a good one!” Tsumugi spoke up, her eyes sparkling. “Never have I ever been kissed by someone other than my significant other? If you’re not dating anyone, Never have I ever been kissed?” Obviously, Tsumugi didn’t take a sip herself, but she didn’t seem embarrassed one bit as she looked around the circle with a manic grin on her face.

 

Kaito drank, no surprise there. Maki too, followed by Shuichi and Kaede, almost in unison. Tenko took a drink too, and so did Rantaro and Angie. A lot of that could be blamed on truth or dare, though, so it wasn’t clear who had actually been kissed voluntarily. Korekiyo… didn’t drink, and Rantaro seemed to smile at that.

 

“I hate this game,” Miu spat out, her choice of words most likely influenced by her not getting to drink. “Y’all just really like to discriminate.”

 

“Never have I ever exaggerated my own sexual experience, then,” Korekiyo said, and if he had ever felt like someone was about to kill him other than daily at home, it was now, with the glare Miu threw him right before reluctantly taking a sip.

 

“Okay, okay, but who hasn’t?” Kokichi whined with a hint of desperation as he drank. Kaito and Tsumugi nodded to his point eagerly as they took a sip.

 

“Looks like I’m out of beer, darn it,” Kaito sighed, turning his bottle upside down just for one drop to fall out of it. “Am I the winner, or what?”

 

“I’m pretty sure you’re the  _ loser,” _ Maki pointed out.

 

“Whatever, at least I’ve had sex,” he shrugged as he stood up from the circle, throwing a grin at the others before exiting the room to the kitchen for… an unknown reason.

 

Too bad for him, when the front door would open two minutes later with Korekiyo’s parents on the other side, he’d be the first one to be seen. And no, his charms wouldn’t work on them.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Making Amaguji date in secret without explaining how they got together? More likely than you'd think.

**Author's Note:**

> ((yeah kiyo and mukuro are siblings in this because their actual ones suck... and?))
> 
> It's 3:40am I was planning to sleep at 1am-


End file.
